The Icy Silence
by Katakana259
Summary: This is a story where Team RWBY fully never met, and the attacks on Beacon never happen. Instead, a new threat emerges from the shadow of a corporate giant. For this threat to be stopped, a new team must appear. This is an OC AU with lots of Language, gore, and psychological aspects.
1. Chapter 1: A Hostage Rescue

A/N:

Hi guys.

This is the first fic that I have ever made.

I was so excited when I started so as I made this, I would like to keep that.

I hope you enjoy. :)

Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY. That is Rooster Teeth.

Chapter 1

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A Hostage Rescue

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* * *

A city lies trapped within the confines of its own progression. Such is the duality of man and Faunus alike. Such as man, all animals strive to reach a higher purpose, but automatons lie dormant, waiting for the chance to be free. In this city, however, Man takes dominance over Faunus in the most brutal ways. That city is called Atlas, the city of industrialism, the city of man, the city of pain.

* * *

Thursday

1:23 A.M.

Somewhere inside the kingdom of Atlas

Current Weather: Heavy Rain

* * *

"Hey, don't you think we've been here for too long, it's pouring," said Daniel.

"Maybe, but I don't mind the rain," said Jace

It was 1:23 am, where Jace and Daniel were prone on top of a nearby abandoned hotel building overlooking a warehouse where over 100 White Fang soldiers were holding an Atlas Council member hostage. It was assumed they were waiting for extraction via bullhead, but if that was the apparent case, where was the military?

"Hey Jace, you think the military should be here?" said Daniel

"Well, I guess, given the fact that a council member is inside that warehouse, the military should be here," said Jace," if they were here, I could be home with my wife and kid."

"Same for me I guess."

After twenty minutes, Daniel decided to radio in to see if anything is new about the situation. "Command, this is Romeo 1, do you copy?"

"Romeo 1, we hear you loud and clear," said Command.

"Well, we have been sitting here for who knows how long and there is no activity coming from the building at all!" replied Daniel. It took a little bit before Command responded.

"Romeo 1, all the orders we got were from high command was to stand by and wait for further instructions so I can't help you right now." Daniel was taken aback by Command's response, but orders are orders. Just before he sat down to take a swig of his flask, the radio buzzed rapidly.

"What might that be?" said Jace.

"I think it is the answer we're looking for," said Daniel as he rushed to the radio, hoping to get his answer so he doesn't look stupid and he got his answer.

"All unit of the APF(Atlesian Police Force), Commissioner Jack Forest has ordered all units to withdraw from the area immediately, I repeat, withdraw from the area immediately. We are sending in team EILE."

"Who's that," said Jace.

"What I heard is that they are some black ops team made by the Atlesian Government."

"Well, at least we're done with our job."

"Yeah, I guess so," said Daniel. Just when he said that he caught one look at that same team going into the warehouse. That one look made him think, "Are those high school girls?"

* * *

In the Warehouse

"Hey, guys! The police are pulling back!" said one soldier. A cheer rang through the warehouse as the White Fang savored their victory.

"Let's see if Nihlus came back yet," said one wolf Faunus. Right when he said that, there was a knock on the main door. "Well, speak of the devil, there he is." The wolf Faunus headed towards the door. " Hey Nihlus, the police are pulling ba-." The wolf Faunus stopped in his tracks. As he opened the door, he saw a young girl with crystal white hair standing there, with "Nihlus'" head on a knife. " Oh shi-," a second knife was impaled through his abdomen, and he instantly froze, completely encased in ice.

"I guess it wasn't your lucky day," chucked the mysterious girl. An explosion erupted at the door as another girl blasted through on a disk-like object that cut the people in the front of the warehouse door heads clean off to even have fountains of blood as a perfect entrance for the devil that will drag their souls to hell. Next to that girl was a slightly taller girl with heels and blackish hair and was carrying around a huge axe which looked like she carried with relative ease. That same girl walked up to 5 White Fang soldiers sliced through all 5 in such a fashion that could be called "Perfect." The original girl that burst through the main door was currently running through each floor running and gunning down as much as she can. When they tried to corner her, it was like she had a guardian angel firing away each time she does. By the time the fast girl got to the council member was held, the crystal-haired girl just walked through the doors to the same room, leaving a trail of frozen mangled bodies. "Mister council member, are you alright?" said the crystal haired one.

"Yes I'm quite alrig-," replied the council member but was cut off by tape.

"NOBODY TALK!" yelled what seemed to be the leader of this group, but the instant he said that the crystal haired girl was at his neck in a blink of an eye. She whispered into his ear with a knife slowly going down his throat, "I'm sorry, did I allow you to speak?"

"N-No," whimpered the leader.

"Good. lvory?"

"Yes, ma'am?" the girl with the shield responded instantly.

"Could you please get the council member to safety?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"Everyone else head to point B4."

"Yes ma'am," they responded correctly in unison and started for the door, but the black haired one stopped.

"Uh, Eirwen?" the black haired one asked.

The crystal haired one who responded to "Eirwen" turned around.

"Yes?"

"What are you going to do with him?"

At this, she broke into a wide grin, "Well, I'm going to have some fun."

The black haired girl nodded and left, knowing all too well what was going to happen.

As soon as she left the building to join up with everyone else, the screams started. The type of screams that would give anyone nightmares, the cries of pain.

* * *

A/N:

Well, that was the first chapter.

Since I have school, my updating will be like most people.

A chapter per 2-3 weeks.

For now, however, it's going to be once a week.

Also, if you are confused with the story plot, this is the prologue.

My plan was to split into Arcs (Ha, get it, Arcs).

So for the next few chapters, it going to the past to reach this point in the story.

I know, it's probably still confusing, but I guess play along.


	2. Chapter 2: Ambush

A/N:

Hey guys, I'm back at it again!

So, you most likely read this chapter already, but actually, I redid the fight scenes.

So again, I can't believe in such a short time, so many people would read it.

Thank you guys really.

I hope you enjoy :)

Disclaimer: I do own RWBY. Rooster Teeth does.

(You know, I'm just going to say this stuff, so nothing bad happens.)

* * *

Chapter 2

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Ambush

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Two children born to a Human father, Umber, and a Faunus mother, Bianca, in a small village in the Kingdom of Mistral, Ivory and her sister Ebon. They were somewhat content with their lives, despite the less than the good company of the surroundings. Innocence protecting them, Ebon and Ivory had little understanding of just how cruel the world was. The two girls were close near inseparable, and spent a vast amount of time with one another, playing and training and everything else one could possibly think of. The two of them couldn't be happier.

Unfortunately, life wasn't willing to leave them alone. When Ivory was 11 and Ebon was 12, they both had been left alone with their mother as her father went for the day for business, as was routine. What started out as a typical day, however, quickly spiraled downward as her family was attacked and robbed by some of the unsavory people they dared to call their neighbors, and was forced to watch as the perpetrators struck he mother and knocked her sister unconscious. It wasn't long before the intruders turned on Ivory, and began mercilessly tormenting the young girl. She was sure she wouldn't make it, though, ready to entirely give in, but was saved as Ebon, in a fit of rage, managed to strike one of the intruders, though Ebon was knocked right back to the ground.

Holding on to each other, the two were waiting to meet the same state as their mother but were saved by a somewhat unexpected person. A hunter who had been in the area managed to drive away the intruders but left almost immediately after, having noticed the girl's father returning. To this day, Ebon and Ivory still think of the man, endlessly curious as to who he was. Ivory's mother had survived but was in a near catatonic state.

Nearly a year later, Bianca was still in bad shape, remaining in a catatonic state. Still, her family continued to cling to the hope that she would one day recover, however unlikely it would be. Ivory refused to give up on her mother, sticking through and praying for some sort of miracle. The young girl spent almost all of her off-time training or by her mother's side, determined to do her best to protect her family, as she had failed to do beforehand. She desperately wanted to be a stronger person for when her mother came to once more.

At least, everyone but Ebon continued to hope. In reality, Ebon knew that her mother was never going to recover, and that waiting and watching for some sign of hope went against everything her mother would have wanted. Her younger sister was too young in Ebon's eyes to see what had happened really, and Umber was merely clinging to Ideals. Recalling previous conversations with Bianca about situations like this, about living without truly "living," and after much arguing of this situation with her father, it was seen as best if Bianca was to be put to a final rest.

Feeling the failure of not being able to protect her mother or family, Ebon took her mother's life into her own hands, ending it in the presence of her father. The truth never went beyond those two and Ivory was lead to believe that their mother had finally succumbed to the damage done to her by the men who attack her. This was still only the beginning of the family tragedy.

Unfortunately, Ivory would never get to show her mother her improved state. Soon, Ebon came to Ivory with the horrible news: their mother had finally passed. It was a devastating blow to the young girl. She felt so lost and confused without her mother, not even entirely sure how to function. She always questioned why this had happened, replaying events in her mind, looking for some sort of answer in the painful memories. It was then that hate began to fester within her. A hatred for humans, based on what she believed was a pure hate crime towards her Faunus family. One she could not repress, and one that would soon lead to a conflict that would drive the sisters away from each other.

Shortly after their mother's death, the family moved from Mistral to Vacuo in an attempt to escape the dangers of Mistral, where Ebon would meet and befriend a young man by the name of Beau. Unfortunately, this did not fix much for the family. The sisters had a major falling out. Ivory was blaming the attackers for their Mother's death, that it was a crime dealing with hate towards the Faunus, utterly oblivious to the fact that there was a Faunus in the group that had attacked the small family. Also, the fact that the group had no way to know that the two young girls were also Faunus themselves, given that their traits were hidden at the time of the attack.

Not having the heart to tell her sister the truth of what happened to their mother, Ebon was forced to watch as her sister took off, bound for revenge against humans of all kinds. Feeling the loss of her mother and her sister, Ebon had begun to sink into a depression, one which her father had taken note of. To help give Ebon more faith, he took it upon himself to finally reveal more truths to Ebon.

Her father admitted that he was, in reality, her step-father. Her actual father, Ash, had died from a disease years before. The second truth: the fact that Ivory was not her only sibling. The man who had saved Ebon on a fateful night was, in fact, her elder half-brother by her deceased father, Jett. It was at this point her step-father suggested, somewhat reluctantly, that she seek the life of a huntress if she had any desire to find her brother and to save her sister. Ebon took his advice, prepared to enroll into Shade with Beau, who had had similar ideas. Her plans were interrupted though, when a tip came in alerting her to her sister's presence in Atlas, causing her to transfer to Atlas and Beau followed along.

Feeling as though her sister was not about to do anything to seek vengeance for their mother's death, Ivory took off, hell-bound on trying to bring justice and equality to their race, no matter what it took. It wasn't as easy as Ivory was hoping, however, as the young girl was entirely unprepared for the world around her. She quickly became lost, just another soul that no one really had any time for, or even paid any mind to. Ivory was forced to fend for herself, trying her best to serve the Faunus in any way possible when given a chance.

Her determination and dedication did not go unnoticed. It wasn't long before Ivory was approached by a man by the name of Russet, who had been watching the young girl for some time. Admiring her skills and dedication, he offered her a place within the White Fang, also offering her a chance to make a change and serve her fellow Faunus. It wasn't a choice she had to think about. Ivory became an active and dedicated member of the White Fang, serving without question, believing the cause she had her mind set to. Only time would tell if she would open her soul to the reality of how the White Fang was changing, and when her life was going to change...

* * *

Saturday

10:26 pm

Somewhere in a forest outside the kingdom of Atlas

Current Weather: Partly Cloudy

* * *

Ivory was in her thoughts until someone was calling her name.

"Hey Ivy," whispered a panther Faunus.

"What, Ash, " said Ivory in a tired voice.

" What were you thinking about," Ash asked curiously.

"Ah, nothing, just the past."

"Well, sometimes, the past is important to keep moving forward," said Ash, trying to sound inspirational.

"Where did you learn that line?"

"Ah well, I got that from my parents."

"Hey, will you two quit the chit chat up there," said a gruff voice of a wolf Faunus," we got work to do."

"Yeah Yeah Brad, we get it," replied both the girls, giggling right after.

"Well anyway, since it's almost time, we should go over the plan."

"Alright, come on Ivy," Ash said lazily.

The group gathered up as a total of four; Brad, as the leader of the group; Ivory, who was speed distraction and demo; Ash, as the scout, and Shade, who was the support sniper. The plan was simple, take out the incoming dust convoy and signal the nearby bullhead for extraction. The layout for the caravan was a front guard truck with a gunner and 4 Schnee Dust Company Guards running standard issue dust rifles. After them, one big truck of Refined Dust followed by a middle unknown container truck that was pitch black. There was a rearguard car that was the same as the first. As Brad finished, everyone got into position as the front guard car was approaching. When all five vehicles got into their sights, Shade took the shot.

The first shot landed in the front gunner's head as his corpse blindly pulled the trigger, cutting up the forest. The next hit the back gunner's heart, instantly killing him. The second shot was Ivory and Ash's queue to move. "Ready," asked Ash.

" Always." They both rushed out of the bushes to the first two front guards. Ivory launch herself, using her semblance and her shield, on top of the guard then switching her shield into two bladed tonfas with two submachine guns and slice off the head of the guard. Ash snuck up behind the guard to the left of Ivory's and performed a quick cut of the neck. The other two guards of their truck were too stunned to do anything that they stared in shock as their comrades are slaughtered in front of them. After Ivory and Ash were done, they readied up to take down the other two, but their heads were completely eviscerated by Shade's oversized dust rounds.

"Seriously, your bullets pack a punch," Ash exclaimed. Shade answered with an affirmative "hm." The group reconvened at the back of the big truck. "Wow, Brad, your skills are greater than your age at least."

" Shut it, Ash," retorted Brad. "Anyway, Ivory, get the charges." Ivory handed Brad the fire dust paste. "Alright, Ash on me, Ivory and Shade, on guard." Ivory and Shade stood guard as Ash and Brad took the back door of the first truck "Ok, on three, one, two, three!" The fire dust paste ignited, and the door flew out. In the truck, were about a dozen crates filled with Refined Dust mined by the Schnee Dust Company.

"Jackpot," Ash exclaimed

Brad went on the radio, " Alright, the truck was a success. Shade, check out the other truck. Ivory, signal the bullhead."

"Yes sir," said Ivory and Shade responded with a nod. Ivory checked her pack for her radio, but in the heat of the battle, it was shot out. "Hey Shade, can I borrow your radio, mine's dead."She tossed her radio at her without a response. "Thanks." As Ivory contacted the bullhead, something was wrong, very wrong. The bullhead pilot didn't answer. Ivory tried three times, still no answer."Uh, Brad, I can't contact the pilot."

Brad was confused," What do you mean?"

"He won't pick up."

At that, Brad knew something was up," Shade, do you read me?" Shade didn't answer.

Suddenly the black truck spewed out smoke and opened up. Then it launched an object in the sky that started to form a dome around them, surrounding them in crystal blue shield. In the smoke, a mysterious figure appeared with two knives in hand. " Look like I caught a few animals in my trap, " Eirwen spoke while slowly licking her lips. Brad could only mouth out the words 'run' before one of Eirwen's knives were lodged into his back with precision. Brad tried to move, but couldn't move. He suddenly recoiled back to the truck and fell unconscious.

Petrified with fear, Ash and Ivory started to run. With that same precision, she slammed a knife into Ash's heel, immobilizing her, her cries of pain filling the forest."RUN, IVORY, RUN!"

"But I can't leave you here!" Ivory held out her hand, "Take my hand!" As Ash reached out, but it was too late. Ash was dragged back by Eirwen. She was kicking and screaming all the way into Eirwen hands then fell limp as Eirwen ripped out the knife.

" I love it when they resist," Eiwen said with a distressed look on her face. Ivory was terrified at the sight of all her teammates lying limp on the ground. She looked over to Eirwen and thought she saw two red orbs of evil in her gray eyes. Suddenly, Ivory was filled with rage and she felt compelled to take her down.

"HEY," Ivory yelled as she picked up her weapons.

After dragging the bodies to the same area for extraction, she turned to look at a rage-filled girl, ready to take revenge for her "friends." At this, she laughed, " You want revenge against your friends?"

"You killed them all!" yelled Ivory.

Again, Eirwen laughed," No silly, they're not dead, just unconscious."

"You'll pay human. YOU WILL, MONSTER!" Ivory screamed, being overwhelmed with emotions.

Eirwen accepted her challenge," Very well, prove your strength and I might give you your so-called 'friends'."

At that, Ivory rushed forwards to clash blades with Eirwen, now locked in a dance with death.

* * *

A/N:

Well, that is a cliffhanger.

Sorry, I had to do that, the ending seemed so perfect.

Don't worry, I will work extra hard for you guys to get the next one!

Also, sorry if this was unusually long.

The chapters are supposed to be around 3-6 pages so yeah.

An answer I would put if some people asked is that since this is the past, Eirwen has a different weapon. She also knows martial arts so she knows how to knock her opponents unconscious. Also, she is using ice treads to bring people back to her using the knives as anchor points.

Man, I talk too much.

Thanks for reading and see you next time!

(P.S.: If someone is so nice as to point me in the direction of an artist willing to draw a cover photo as well as some other things. I would much appreciate it! :)


	3. Chapter 3: Strength

A/N:

After a week, the 3 chapter is out and there is something special with this one.

A fellow comrade, Commissar Sarrisa, graciously helped me out on the fight scene.

So read his fic Eastern Wolf for more of this action.

Anyway, enjoy this desperate battle :)

* * *

Chapter 3

Strength

* * *

Not even thirty seconds after the unique blade duel started, the headstrong Ivory quickly found herself on the defensive. The duel had become a trial of survival. Ivory's opponent was completely reckless. Every step she took was forward, and every step accompanied by the swing of her knife. She had left the other in Brad's spine. Despite her seeing countless openings, countless gaps, chances to misstep, to trip or push back. Being emotionally overwhelmed, Ivory's instincts for survival outweighing her desire for revenge.

The duel had long left the road of destroyed drones, bleeding bodies and burning vehicles. Still, within the barrier created by the trap, the duel now entered the surrounding forest. Tired of being on constant defense, Ivory took a risk. She sidestepped her opponent just as she maniacally lunged forward with her knife. Luck had it that right behind Ivory was a stout tree. Her opponent's careless knife planted itself in said tree and refused to leave.

Taking this advantage, Ivory, with her left arm, gripping the perpendicular handle of her Tonfa to the point her knuckles turned white, swung the bladed tonfa with a twist at the waist, aiming to cleave the psychopath in front of her head off. Her elbow blade would be stopped as Eirwen freed her blade and swiftly parried the attempted decapitation with a single hand, she too, twisting awkwardly at the waist. The smirk growing on Eirwen's face fell as Ivory fell to her knee, withdrawing from the deadlock. Taking the advantage of Eirwen's curious pause, she reached for her out left shoulder with her right elbow, tearing Eirwen's black field blouse and grazing her midsection, stood up and brought her elbow down diagonally, leaving a gash that quickly bled across Eirwen's cheek.

Ivory quickly crossed herself, using Sutton' Grace as to form a shield. Using her semblance, she hastily poured her aura into the interlocked blades. Releasing it all at once she created an controlled explosion, sending the unmoving Eirwen, curious to see what she would do next, skidding back.

Having fallen backward after tripping on an inconveniently placed tree root. Eirwen did a kick up to get back on her feet. Having also turned off her Aura beforehand, she reached up and ran a finger across the deep cut across her cheek. Examining the blood on her finger, she gave it a little kiss, shuddering slightly from the sensation. She flipped her knife, holding it in reverse she wiped the remaining blood on her blouse's black sleeve. Utilizing her semblance, she ran two fingers down her knife, the increasing its length, expanding and replacing the cold steel of her knife with an even colder material consisting of ice, but this ice was different. Once she was done, she formed a perfect katana covered in a deep red ice.

"Shall we dance?" She offered to the stunned Ivory, having witnessed her entire display. Stepping forward with her left leg and placed her other behind her. She flipped the reversed blade into proper handling, quickly remembering to remove the ice hand-guard previously placed to protect her hand.

She centered her blade and offered Ivory a coy grin. "Come on now, haven't got all day do I?" Her taunts seemed to work as Ivory let out a low growl and charged her.

'Doesn't differ much in tactics does she?' Eirwen calmly thought as she swiftly deflected Ivory's recurring elbow swings with a flick of her wrist, occasionally stepping to the side to avoid backhand swings or aggressive punches aimed at her face or chest.

Deciding to play with her prey, Eirwen hopped, switching her feet while flipping her katana to hold it in reverse, sidestepped Ivory's next predicted punch and stepped forward, twirling under the girl's outstretched arm while bringing her blade behind her, keeping the dull end of the katana against her own flank.

She stood up straight behind Ivory crossed legged. A piece of Ivory's white jacket resting on the blade's tip. She spun around, untangling her legs and raised her fist, knuckles facing herself, up to catch a counter-attack from Ivory. She cocked her head to the right as she saw the hilt of Ivory's tonfas pushing down against her katana. Upon quick examination, Ivory was holding her right tonfa underneath the thin, but sharp blade running the length of the synthetic weapon.

Shrugging, Eirwen let her right-hand drop, crossing herself, she grabbed Ivory's arm and jerked it back across herself. Cuffing Ivory in the side with her blade before letting go of her arm she shoved the Faunus back.

Shaking her head, Ivory slid back, even more, creating a small amount of space between the two, crouching down she leaped forward, twisting herself midair so that her left blade's tip would come into contact first, where then she would swing with her right, keeping minimal time between both strikes.

She didn't predict Eirwen to roll under her while she was still in midair, as she landed Eirwen landed three disciplined strikes onto her exposed back. Each creating a bleeding mark upon the gray undershirt. Quickly sparking her aura she jammed her left fist into Ivory's spin. Launching her a short distance. Eirwen slowly approached Ivory, waiting until she got onto her knees. Before tapping into her semblance and flicking her left wrist, causing a small spear of ice to emit out of the ground and stab into Ivory's side.

Eirwen retracted the spear. Seeing Ivory's aura shatter with the first spear, she flung her hand to the left and created a larger one, sending Ivory flailing into the forest.

Eirwen frowned, staring at her left wrist. She had let her lust of blood get the better of her at that moment. Sighing, Eirwen quickly walked after her flying opponent.

Not a minute later Eirwen found her opponent struggling to stand up. Having sent her flying into the air in such a thick forest left her with countless bleeding, smaller cuts with even smaller chips of wood lodged into her figure. Eirwen was partly surprised to see the sight of herself give Ivory a sudden burst of strength, which she used to stand up.

Ivory shook furiously, her frozen face boasting ferocious bared teeth. Eirwen calmy approached the Faunus, stopping a foot in front of the struggling girl.

Having gathered enough strength that she didn't have, Ivory let out a wordless war cry and stumbled forward sluggishly swinging her right elbow over her head, having lost her other tonfa in her flight.

Eirwen would not let her final act of bravery go unpunished, stepping swiftly forward, making sure to avoid the wild elbow blade of Ivory's, she skidded forward as she swung the blunt end of her katana, using her momentum to worsen the blow. She made sure to jerk Ivory forward as her blade connected with the girl's stomach. Stealing all the miserable reserves of air in Ivory's lungs.

Eirwen walked past Ivory, preoccupied with attempting to keep standing up and to continue breathing. Eirwen left a final slash across Ivory's back, causing the Faunus to fall to her knees. Grabbing the girl by the collar of her grey undershirt. Eirwen hefted the girl up from the ground and onto her feet. Raising her right foot she kicked back at Ivory's left leg, causing her to buckle with a cry.

Seeing how the crippled girl was still standing, Eirwen used another spark of aura, grabbing the Ivory by the neck, she slammed her into the damaged tree she had crashed into earlier.

Eirwen was amused. 'With all this punishment, she stays standing,' She thought while looking over the Faunus as she gripped the bark of the tree with such a degree that it caused her one finger gloved hand to bleed through the fabric, all in the effort to stay standing. Ivory glared at her with a single hazy eye. The other closed one seemed to be uncooperative with her.

Eirwen raised her katana to her own bleeding cheek, only to take a few more drops of the tip of the blade to satisfy her current urges for blood. 'Funny, how her companions snapped like twigs yet here she stands.'

Ivory hardly stood, slouching forward. Her legs begun to fail her, her aura drained to a point she had forgotten she had one. She was bleeding heavily from her opponent's wounds and the small wooden afflictions did not help either. With her one working eye, she gazed over her opponent, suffering only the slightest of grazes and a wound she allowed to be afflicted on herself.

Ivory managed to tear her shaky hand off the scarred tree. Using her hand, she reached down with great effort to her left boot, retrieving two dust .45 bullets from one of the three ammo belts she had on person. It would have been easier to reach for her belt but she felt that it would somehow hurt more.

She accidentally dropped one of the bullets as she raised it to eye level. Taking her remaining tonfa, she pressed the magazine release, opening a slot on the handle's side. She slowly placed the shaking bullet into the handle. Not at all caring that Eirwen patiently stood in front of her, intrigued.

She placed the bullet in position, closing the slot, she raised the tonfa, aiming her fist in Eirwen's general direction, she pressed the button on top of the handle, firing the .45 bullet.

Ivory stumbled back at the recoil of the hidden firearm. She used her left hand, drenched in drying blood and her torn glove reaching to her elbow having no help in the sanity of her wounds, to steady herself once more on the tree she held a large hate for.

Ivory let out a weak gasp. 'If I just aimed a little bit higher…' Ivory's bullet had, by pure luck, landed in the middle of Eirwen's 'combat' skirt. A black hole in the middle of the red fabric, the bullet skimming past Eirwin's legs.

"I'm… weak…" Ivory muttered out before collapsing against the tree she had bled multiple times on.

Eirwen slowly approached the fallen girl and knelt down by her. "You're not weak, not at all. You fought bravely, though brashly and misguided, bravely nonetheless." She spoke in a different tone, an angelic one. She gently raised Ivory's head with two fingers placed under her chin.

"I could… use you." Eirwen spoke to herself as an idea formed into her head.

"Who… a-ar-are you?" It was a feat for Ivory to speak at the moment. Eirwen put a finger against her mouth, shushing the child. "Save your breath. If you couldn't tell you're severely injured. Rest."

Standing up, she reached into her mainly untouched military blouse and pulled out a cylinder. Pressing the small red button found on its crown, the cylinder began to glow. The crystal blue dome around the area evaporated.

Ivory lost consciousness as the forest around her animated with the strong winds created by the descending bullhead.

* * *

Sunday

9:00 am

Unknown Location

Current Weather: Not Visible

* * *

When Ivory regained consciousness, she awoke to a white and silver room, where she found herself chained to a chair. The room looked plain but had necessary living arrangements; A bookshelf that seemed very ornate, a desk with very intricate writing utensils, and a plain bed in an embroidered frame. The room in all its entirety looked like something out of a royal palace, but the chains made it seem like a lavish prison cell. Ivory was wondering why she was here, but the door started to open, and a figure entered the room. That figure was her assailant holding a tea set that looked like 100,000 Lien. "Oh, you're awake," the assailant spoke, "Here, let me get that for you."

She walked over and unshackled her. Ivory first instinct was to get revenge but was confused by the sudden change of heart, adding to the lack of feeling in her right leg, she simply just sat there.

Her assailant walked back to the tray, picked it up, and set it down on a tea table. After doing so, she gestured for Ivory to sit in the chair in front of her. Ivory, still confused, got up and sat in the chair in front of her assailant, and her assailant did so in kind. Ivory was the first to speak up, "Where… are we and who are… you?"

The assailant responded after taking a sip of tea. "My name is Eirwen Roenfaust, and you are in my manor." Ivory searched her brain for where she heard that name, and she found that name was the name of one of the noble families of Atlas by overhearing a conversation by Brad and some higher up White Fang members. "Oh… what does one of the noble families want with me?" Ivory narrowed her eyes, not thinking fondly of a public execution.

"When we fought, I saw some- potential, that can be easily used in a much more, superior, manner." She tested out the word, thinking to herself. Lowering her teacup into her lap and looked away, as if she was just asked a question at a prestigious tea party.

"What do you mean?" Ivory was puzzled.

"The White Fang was not always like what it is now. For I know the atrocities they have committed."

"What?" Ivory, herself not knowing the full history of the White Fang. thought she was lying for information, but she wasn't prepared for what was next.

"When I was a young girl, I was just like any other wealthy military family in Atlas. I could get anything I wanted with a caring mother and an inspiring father," Eirwen paused, "Of course, like any loving family in Atlas, all of that changed one day when my mother went to the market, just like any day she would, always wanting to do things herself, hardly letting our servants even lift a finger in the manor, but she never came back. She had died in a White Fang biological attack when I was 7. And that's where it all fell down," Ivory could see a single tear fall down Eirwen's cheek. "Every night, as you would expect, my father was so engulfed with grief that he always came back from work with a wine bottle in hand. Whenever I tried to tell him about school or other things, he got outraged," Eirwen stood up and rolled up her sleeves and took off her gloves, "This is some of what he did."

Eirwen's arms were covered in various scars from broken bottles, kitchen knives, cigar burns, and belt lashes from the tip of her fingers to the start of her shoulders. Seeing this made Ivory reminisced about a similar memory when she was young.

"I'm... sorry," Ivory said while almost coming to tears because she was a human, she and her father were monsters. But even monsters hurt each other. She had all the right to hate them, but she was lied to, by everyone. She knew full well they killed people, but they killed officials and military. She never imagined such use of warfare against such a defenseless people.

"It doesn't stop there," Eirwen said, recomposing herself, "When I was 12, I was at a speech hosted by my father where he got shot right front of me. His last words, if I remember correctly, was 'do good for the family' and that was it. He died right there, in my arms. I had thought myself free for the moment, but of course, The White Fang was still attacking, using their so-called reason 'for rights' so I had to fight through about a dozen White Fang soldiers. I could recall one with an aura. Following that, they finally seized a weak 12-year-old girl with wet blood all over her, covering up the dry. Then, they tortured me for 3 weeks-"

Eirwen paused, a sickening smile grew on her face. Ivory gave her a worried stare, recalling two specifical actions she had committed in her previous memory,

"But, I escaped and ran through the forests until someone found me." She scoffed to herself. "And to think I wanted to do something with my life besides being in every cliche ever written before."

When Eirwen finished, the door opened with a butler wheeling in a tied up, beaten Brad. Eirwen stood up, setting her tea down to the side, walked over to Brad to take off the tape. Suddenly, Brad awoke with red eyes and looked around to see Ivory in a chair and his assailant standing next to her.

"Get away from her," Brad snarled as he attempted to lunge forward but was stopped by the chain.

"No Brad," Ivory responded with tears in her eyes

"Why Ivory, she killed Ash and Shade."

"NO, SHE DIDN'T," Ivory yelled out," Brad, you lied to me."

"What are you talking about," Brad said puzzlingly

" Did the White Fang kill innocent people," Ivory said in an angry tone. Brad was silent." Did they?!"

" Yes they did, but they were not innocent. They ridiculed us, they oppressed us, they tormented us!"

"That doesn't make it right!" Eirwen handed Ivory her standard issue dust pistol.

" Then, make it right." Ivory held the pistol up to Brad's head height, with tears overflowing in her eyes.

" You lied to me to kill innocent people."

"No, you're just like a human, weak and easy to take. You don't even belong in the Faunus race, you-."

"SHUT UP!" When Brad opened his eyes, he was staring down a barrel, and he looked to the left to see a half smiling Eirwen when everything went black. A bang was heard as the dust bullet exited the barrel into Brad's skull. The force knocked him and his chair back on to the ground. Ivory immediately dropped the gun and started sobbing in her hands after and fell to the ground. Eirwen followed her down, grabbing her from behind into an embrace. " It's okay now," Eirwen whispered into her ear," We'll make everything right together." After that, Eirwen started to grin.

* * *

A/N:

That's the 3 chapter folks

I think it turned out well.

Please tell me what you think

So the next chapter is going to be fun

(P.S: Water)


	4. Chapter 4: Free

A/N:

Welcome back, my wonderful viewers!

The next chapter awaits.

On the high seas!

Enjoy!

(Man, isn't this so happy)

* * *

Chapter 4

Free

* * *

Ebon awoke to the sound of Beau humming close behind. She was surprised that she fell asleep due to the engine's purr. Beau looked at his watch, "How much longer?" Ebon tiredly stood up. She looked at Beau. Before they left the port, she asked what Beau was wearing and he answered back with," I'm wearing my hunter uniform. A blue and black yukata with a black obi." Ebon didn't know what those meant so he explained it to her. "It is because my family is so traditional, they wanted me to wear this. I like it anyway." After that, they entered the ship.

"We had just spotted land so not long ago," Ebon answered in a monotonous voice with a stoic expression.

"Geez, you never relax. You even have your huntress uniform on too." Ebon was wearing a black vest that had a little drape of cloth on her left side with a gray undershirt with her right sleeve rolled up to her elbow. Her left sleeve was missing but had a glove that extended to her elbow with diamond-shaped holes along it. That was accompanied by black short shorts with gray pantyhose extended up to her shorts. Also, there was an opening on the sides that showed the sides of her leg all the way to shorts also exposing the belts of ammo on her thighs, however, there is a piece of cloth covering the opening down to her gray boots.

"Well, you know why."

"Yeah yeah, I know."

"If I wanted to, I would. Sleeping is the only way."

"Alright, I see what's on deck." Ebon attempted to go back to sleep as Beau left. After many bouts of trying, she gave up and joined Beau.

Beau was propped up against the ship's railing, gazing off into the sea. "You know, I miss the desert a little bit," Beau said longingly.

"I do miss the quiet," Ebon said longingly. They both sighed at the same time, then laughed.

"Wow, It's been a very long time since you laughed like that Ebon."

"It is not like I can not laugh, I just choose not to."

" Whatever you say." Beau gave up on the conversation. After a while of sitting at the railing, Beau noticed something strange. " Hey, Ebon."

"Yeah?"

" Do you think that ship has been following us for a long time?"

" I haven't been paying attention to the surroundings lately since I was trying to sleep, so I don't know," Ebon replied, clearly annoyed, "For what I can see, there are two ships on both sides of the ship traveling at the same rate of speed." At that, Beau turned around and saw that both ships were aiming at them.

"Hey, Ebon, I think we should be ready for a fight."

" Why?"

" Those are not friendly, those are-." An explosion erupted on the deck as Beau and Ebon were forcibly blown back as two White Fang ships were firing upon the ship. If they didn't have an aura, they would be dead or unconscious. "Well, that happened," Beau remarked.

" Yeah, we should do something about this," Ebon stated in a stoic voice.

" If the bridge is still in one piece, we should ask the captain, it's his ship."

"Alright." They got up and picked up their weapons to head to the bridge. While running over there, Ebon noticed all the wrecked metal and bodies that didn't make it in the first barrage. " I think I read about some pirate group in these water."

" Really, now you bring that up. We could have taken an air transport!"

Ebon had a defeated look," Well, I was kind of low on money and thought that if we wait, we would miss my sister."

" Fine, here, there's a ladder." They climbed up as the ship was rocking in the explosions ton reach a hallway. "Now, where do we go."

" I think you should look up." Above them, was signs that pointed in many different directions. One of them was pointing towards the bridge.

" Come on, I knew that."

" Man, for a fox, you are not that clever."

"Whatever." They traveled in that direction to reach a pair of iron doors. Above it, was a sign reading "BRIDGE AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL ONLY."

" I don't think we are authorized to go in," remarked Ebon.

" Well, given the crisis and our training, I think we are," Beau shot back.

" Ok, I guess we are." Ebon and Beau opened the doors and entered.

The bridge was a mess of people and chatter. There were people run to and fro, carrying papers to each station in white naval uniforms. The whole room was in a constant alert state. An officer noticed them and walked over. "What are you kids doing here," he demanded, "You're supposed to be below deck."

" Well, we came here to find the captain and ask if he needed some help," answered Beau. The Officer looked closely at them," so you kids are one of those hunters-in-training?"

" Yes, sir."

"Alright follow me." They headed through the crowds of people traveling between stations to a chair in the center of the room.

" I want a damage report on all sectors done now! Someone tell me what happened to our guns!"

An officer answered him," Sir, the gunners on both guns have been wounded."

" Well, find some who can operate those guns or we're dead in the water." The officer nodded and ran off. The Captain sat on his chair, took off his hat, and pulled out a handkerchief to wipe the sweat on his forehead.

"Excuse me, captain."

Yes," said the Captain as he spun around. Before him, was a different officer with two kids behind him.

" I believe I found the solution to your problem."

" And what is that?"

One of the kids stepped up," I believe we can man the guns."

" And who are you?"

" I'm Beau Kaminari and this is Ebon Falke."

" Alright, so how are you planning to man the guns?"

Ebon spoke up," I believe we had training on firing these types of cannons while we were in Shade Academy."

"Hmm, they teach you that stuff."

"Yes, sir."

" Alright, can I leave you to it?"

" Yes sir, you can count on us."

" Right then, I sent one officer with each of you to each gun. Then they will come right back here. You will be alone back there so I can count on you to defend yourselves?"

"Yes, sir."

" Now go!" The two officers showed up when they finished with their conversation to lead them out. When they were out of the bridge, Beau whispered to Ebon. "Do you actually know how to fire the guns on this ship." Ebon looked at him with a half smile.

" I have no idea."

The run to the cannons was like when they were running to the bridge. They split up shortly said good luck to each other before they parted. When Ebon arrived, the gun was in good condition, but the crew was not. Bodies and guts were strewn about all over the floor. The crewmember that was assigned to her had left as she arrived. "Now, how do I work this thing," said Ebon with her hands on her hip. She looked around a bit to find some way to fire the cannon when she found what looked to be a manual. She looked it over," oh, so that how this works."

Ebon climbed up the ladder into the gunner seat. The gun itself was a Military grade single-shot dust battery. She also took the manual with her in the cabin. "So step one is to load the gun, ok, I can do that. She jumped out and found the ammo rack. In it, was 16"/50 caliber dust shells, but there were few. "At least, they were using them." She flared her aura to pick up the 2,240-pound (1,020 kg for you metric users) with ease. Ebon walked over to the loading chamber, which was located under the cannon, and at the press of a button, it opened up to revealed at loading area where she put the round. It closed in conformation because of the round that was entered. She climbed back up into the cabin. "Ok, step two, aim the cannon at the target." Ebon noticed the dials and guessed what they were for. After some fidgeting, she managed to aim the gun towards the ship, accounting for speed and distance. "Alright, the last step, fire the gun. Pretty straightforward." Ebon spotted the lever which looked to be the firing lever so she pulled it anyway.

The sudden movement by the cannon recoiling back almost knocked her off the gunner seat, but she caught herself from falling. " Did it hit?" Ebon leaped off the platform and flared her aura again to lighten her fall. She ran to the cannon opening and saw that the ship was starting to sink. "Yes," Ebon exclaimed. A few seconds after, she heard the sound of another cannon firing off. "Oh, he figured it out too." She ran back to to the T-section where they were separated and Ebon saw Beau turn the corner. "Did you get yours?"

" Yeah, you?"

" Yeah." They were taking momentary breaks to catch their breaths. Once Beau caught his, he straightened his posture and asked another question.

" How did you figure out how to use the cannon?"

" Read the manual."

"Same."

" Yeah, I figured. Anyway, let us head back." Once they got back on deck, the salty spray touched Ebon's skin again. "I really like the sea."

" Unfortunately, I can't say the same."

" Is it because you are a fox?"

" Well, yeah."

" Alright, suit yourself. Hey, do you know where the bridge was again?"

" I think it's-," He was cut off by the sound of an explosion erupting on the bridge," There." A bullhead uncloaked and was above the deck.

"Well here is the fight you wanted," remarked Ebon.

Ebon and Beau locked into gear as the first wave dropped in. Ebon pulled out her Hiraeth Warden, which was a shotgun-ax combo Meanwhile, Beau pulled out his Inazuma, which was a Halberd that used his semblance of lightning. As the borders dropped, Ebon knew who it was, it was the White Fang. 'Why are the Fang here,' thought Ebon. Her thoughts were interrupted by the first wave arriving on deck. Ebon and Beau decided to split the deck between themselves. The first few soldiers found them at the mercy Ebon's Hiraeth Warden.

" Fire at will, "yelled one of the soldiers. Ebon immediately moved to dodge the bullets. She transformed her Hiraeth Warden to its ax form and swung it at the nearest soldier. The ax landed in the head of the soldier, cracking the mask and breaking his skull. The other soldiers looking in horror as the ax was ripped out of their comrade, his body falling to the ground. In a panic, they started shooting at Ebon, but she dodges those shots and came behind them. She switched her weapon into the shotgun mode and used two shots to fire into both heads of the panicked soldiers, as they fell to the ground to join their comrade. On Beau side, he was taking out one by one with his lighting or his polearm blade. They were making good progress, but slowly, they started to diminish.

Unfortunately, before they knew it, they were surrounded. The leader came out from the fiery bridge with the captain in one hand and chainsaw with two barrels on each side, which had elaborate designs to accompany the White Fang symbol in the other.

"So, our heroes arrive," the leader smirked, then throwing the captain's corpse in front of them, "Are you going to join him?"

Beau was angry at this, "So you are now willing to attack both humans and Faunus now?"

"Well, I don't care if I kill some Faunus here and there, but I enjoy it," laughed the leader," I could say that they were harboring humans against the White Fang."

"You're sick."

"Does it matter, you're about to die." Ebon could not take it. She threw her ax at full power at the leader. He tried to block it, but the force of 600 pounds (272.1554 kilograms) prevailed. It slammed into his body to annihilate the leader's torso and then implanted itself into the wall behind him.

"How about you shut up for a while," Ebon chuckled with a tear going down her cheek before collapsing to the ground.

"You bitch," a White Fang soldier yelled before opening fire, but Beau used his staff to shock everyone there, using the last of his aura.

When Ebon regained consciousness, she was in an escape pod on the lower decks with Beau prepping her. "What are you doing Beau?" Ebon said in a confused tone.

"The ship is going down, and you're in no condition to fight."

"What are you talking about, I'm fi-," the instant she got up, she almost collapsed.

"See what I mean?"

"What about you?"

"I'll find a way." Before Beau closed the door, he gave Ebon a pendant of his symbol which was a blue crescent moon with a lightning bolt down the middle. "Goodbye, Ebon."

"Wait," Ebon yelled and pounded, but Beau couldn't hear her as the door closed. The pod was launched from the ship, and it started to dive towards seafloor. Ebon dared to look up but was greeted with a disturbing sight. The same ship that she was on exploded in an arduous blast as the pieces were now sinking beside her. Her only real friend was now gone. When she snapped back to reality, Ebon noticed that she was sinking and tried to lighten the pod with her semblance, but she didn't have much aura left. A piece of shrapnel slightly damaged the pod, but it hurt the life support system. Since the pod was running out of air, she fell unconscious.

Leena was walking in the forest when she saw a glowing fireball towards the sea. Knowing all too well what might have happened, she rushed to the beach. When Leena arrived, she slowed her pace to a walk. She was in complete shock because she thought that she just walked in hell. Among all the twisted and mangled wreckage, there were bodies everywhere in various positions. From burned corpses to impaled victims, they were littered everywhere. After going through the horror show, Leena came upon a lone escape pod. Seeing this is the first bit of hope in this despair, she rushed to the pod. It took a bit of effort, but she pried open the pod door with her Orphic Tempest. In the pod, she found a girl around her age lying unconsciousness in the pod. She took her out carefully and left the scene.

When Ebon woke, she felt a warm sensation. Ebon suddenly got up to meet face to face with another girl that looked to be the same age and a Faunus at that. She backed away and looked around she was still in a forest and seem to be away from the crash. " Who are you," Ebon said in a stern, stoic voice.

"My name is Leena Halloran, and I saved your life."

* * *

A/N:

So what a great cliffhanger.

Poor Beau, he was such a happy soul.

Besides him, we love new characters.

Ebon was explained before in chapter two, but Leena is new.

The next chapter is going to be a little short but going to be a short journey to a big stage.

(Remind anyone of Volume 4?)

(Any artists wanted)


	5. Chapter 5: Trail

A/N:

Sorry for not getting this out earlier

Kind of busy with things

So I hope you enjoy

* * *

Chapter 5

Trail

* * *

They sat in silence for a while, separated by the campfire. Leena was the first to break the ice, "So, what happened?" Ebon took a second to respond, "The White Fang attacked my ship and took my only friend away."

"Oh, sorry for asking."

"It's fine. I'll get over it." After asking that, they ended up in silence. Leena spoke up.

" Um, I know this is out of context," Leena asked, trying to be polite.

"Should I become a huntress?" Ebon turned slightly towards her.

"Do you want to protect Faunus and Humans no matter who they are or what they have done from the soulless monsters of Grimm?"

"U-uh, yes."

" Congratulations, you just answered your question." Leena was in shock.

" That's it, there is nothing else to it," Leena said, baffled," No big responsibility talk, or anything in-depth?"

"Well you look responsible, and there is nothing else to it, just working hard." Leena came into realization.

"Oh, so just do school and slay monsters?"

" Yes."

"Ooookay," Leena felt dumb, now knowing that the academies were so straightforward. There was just one question she had to ask. " Where were you heading on that ship?" This time, Ebon stood up and pointed in a direction.

" I was heading to Atlas to find my sister."

" Oh," Leena felt like she could do something, so she leaped, "Can I help you find her? I don't have anything to do, and I feel like when there is an opportunity to help, I should take it. Also, I know the area well." Ebon stepped closer to inspect her.

After a good look, she answered, "Well you are pretty hidden and look like you can hold your own in a fight so sure."

Leena was relieved, "Thank you." She was happy that now she has a purpose. "We should leave in the morning, and also, I dragged what looked to be your weapon here," Leena continued," It said 'Property of Ebon Falke'. Is that you?"

Ebon walked up to her weapon and picked it up like it was nothing," Yes, that is."

Leena was, again, baffled, " H-How are you doing that?!"

Ebon looked at her with a stoic expression on her face, as always," My semblance is Gyrokinesis. I can control the weight of objects around me."

" Oh," Leena said, realizing that the more she is around Ebon, she gets dumber and dumber, "Good night."

Ebon put the fire out," Good night."

* * *

Three days later

* * *

Ebon and Leena have been traveling to Atlas, and since then, they have only used small talk, until now. "Hey, what is your story?" Ebon asked, walking with hands behind her head.

" Well, I need time to think so you first."

" Alright, "Ebon explain how her family got attacked, and her sister leaving. " And that is why I'm searching for my sister, to set her straight." Leena sees now that helping her is a just cause. "So, have you thought up your past."

"Well, yeah."

* * *

Born in the kingdom of Atlas, Leena had been alone from a young age and had been forced to take care of herself for a good portion of her life. She never let this get her down, however, as the young girl learned from an early age how far simple acts of kindness could go. Leena would never hesitate to go out of her way for others and took great pride in being able to comfort and protect those who needed it. She eventually found herself in the care of a senior woman, who would shelter her when needed, and even gave her opportunities to work and travel, in turn giving Leena the ability to expand her knowledge and meet new people.

Unfortunately, being a Faunus, she was also subjected to great deals of discrimination throughout her life, forcing her to learn how to defend herself. At the young age of 11, Leena found herself joining the ranks of the White Fang, determined to not only protect her race but also to keep the respect and continue to help those she found deserving of help, no matter their race. It was also during this time that Leena met and befriended a young man named Dylan, a man who knew very well of her connections and race, but treated her the same as he did everyone else, something she felt was a bit rare, but also something she was very grateful for.

Unfortunately, it didn't take long for things to make a turn. Leena could sense dark times coming. After watching her comrades turn from protest to violence, their very beings twisted, Leena left the White Fang at the age 15, a year before their leader stepped down, worried about what the future of the organization may hold and for the fact that her only real friend, Dylan, was killed in a violent White Fang demonstration.

* * *

" So that's mine."

" Kindness cannot get you everything."

"Yeah."

After a short while of walking, they heard something nearby. " Do you hear that," Ebon asked.

" Yeah," answered Leena. It was the sound of someone screaming in pain. They rushed to the nearby hill that was overlooking the noise. They went prone and crawled up to see. As they looked over, they saw two men and a Faunus women holding her child. " Hold on, let me get a closer look," Leena said.

"You are not going down there, are you," Ebon asked, with some concern in her voice.

"No, I'm staying right here." Leena closed her eyes and focused her aura. Her mind became clearer and used her semblance. "Ok, the two men are both humans with relative hunter training, but only have small arms. They are also wearing brown leather jackets The woman was wearing a bloodied white dress and was in bad shape with multiple bruises along her back and arms. There are some also present on her face. It looks to me that she was trying to protect the child from the human, therefore, receiving the damage." Ebon was slightly amazed.

" Wow, you can get all that information from about 500 ft away with no error," said Ebon, with a hint of awe in her voice.

" Well, that is my semblance, Clairvoyance."

" Huh, that is useful."

" I guess," Leena slightly blushed from the phrase," so, anyway, what do we do?"

It took a little bit for Ebon to come up with a plan, given the information in front of her," so, Leena, what does your weapon do?"

Leena was surprised at Ebon question," Well, my Orphic Tempest is a sniper-spear-trident combo and in sniper mode, I have increased range due to my semblance. Why do you ask?"

" We are going to take them out."

* * *

Ebon was silently sliding down the hill and running to a nearby bush. While she was in that bush, she overheard the conversation the two men were having. "So, do you think they would sell for a lot?"

" Hm, maybe, the child can get us extra. They're both women so that's a bonus." The man had a grin on his face.

" Well, the problem is that the bitch is blocking the child, and no matter what we do, she doesn't move!" The other man struck the woman with his whip. She cried out in pain as the whip made a bloody gash along her back, joining the others.

" M-mom, what-t's happ-pening," the child whimpered in between sobs. The mother strained to get words out.

" It's alright dear, someone will save us," she said in a slow, quivering voice.

The men got impatient. "Ok, so can you two give up already. No help is coming, so be good little animals and submit. We don't got all day!"

The entire scenario was all too familiar to Ebon. She and her sister were in the same exact situation. It was only then that her half-brother came in and saved them. Now, she will have to be like her brother then.

The men heard a noise behind them. "Who's there," one of the men the yelled.

A girl that was about a foot shorter than they walk out of the bushes nearby and walked towards them. "Well, Well, Danny, I guess today we will be getting richer and richer."

" I guess we are Sam," Danny responded.

" So, little girl, you know it's not safe going alone in the forest," Sam chuckled.

The girl put a slight smile on her face as she slowly pulled out her weapon. The weapon suddenly burst into an ax that was as tall as them.

" So, your one of those huntress-in-training." They drew their weapons. Danny had a one-handed sword with dust covering the blade. Sam switched his whip for a two-handed hammer that the ends of the hammer part were filled with electric dust. Ebon didn't really what they did because of the plan, but acted like she was scared.

" You afraid now, little miss hero," scoffed Sam.

" I don't need to be afraid of scum like you," Ebon coldly said. She flared her aura, forcing the two men to the ground.

"What the fuck is going on," weakly questioned Sam because of the G-force.

Ebon switched to her shotgun mode and place it on Danny's back. She pulled the trigger and released him from the gravitational pull, He felt like his spine broke plus all of his ribs from the impact of the shell. He was wondering what caliber the gun was to make it hurt so much. He looked up to see an expressionless girl with black hair with platinum streaks and blue eyes. She formed a finger gun pointed it at him.

"Bang," she said as she imitated the recoil.

" The fuck is that suppose to me-," before Sam finished, Danny's head exploded " I do not leave mercy for the wicked," said Ebon. She turned her gun towards Sam. At point-blank range, she pulled the trigger.

As Sam's headless corpse fell to the ground, Leena walked up behind Ebon.

" So the two civilians are squared away, but what do we do about the bodies?"

" Leave them to rot." Ebon put away her weapon and continued walking. Not wanting to hurt her more, given to what she had been through, she ran after her.

* * *

Two days later

In front of Atlas' north gate

2:31 pm

Current weather: Clear Skies

* * *

As they arrived, they noticed the massive walls surrounding Atlas. " Wow, those walls are huge," Ebon said in awe.

" Yup, how do you think Atlas stayed alive for this long?"

As they approached the gate, two gatekeepers stopped them.

"Halt," one of the gatekeepers said," state name and business."

"I am Ebon Falke, and this is Leena Halloran," Ebon continued," We are here to search for someone."

The gatekeeper walked in front of them, "Hand over your Scrolls." Ebon and Leena handed their Scrolls over to the gatekeeper, and he walked to a console to enter the Scrolls in. "Oh," the gatekeeper looked surprised," Somebody is expecting you." Both Ebon and Leena were confused. Who was expecting them? " I've updated your clearance levels and set a waypoint to the location they have signified."

Ebon retained her stoic expression," Thank you, and we will be on our way."

"Have a safe trip," the gatekeeper smiled back as they entered the city.

" Weird guy," Leena wondered.

When they were passed the gate, Ebon and Leena look at the city in awe. Ebon could not have had imagined a city with so many whites, blues, grays, and blacks painting its ambiance. There were factories at every corner, shops in every district, and advertisement everywhere for the Schnee Dust Company. When they were where really close to the waypoint, they saw a small girl wave at them. Wondering if that is the person expecting them, Ebon and Leena walked to her.

The girl, on closer inspection, looked like a full-on huntress and a cyborg arm to boot. "Are you two Ebon and Ivory?" asked the girl in a surprisingly mature voice.

" Yes, we are."

" Good, my name is Signi, call me Sig," Sigini said while giving handshakes, "Come now, the main event awaits." They entered the warehouse next to Sigini. The inside of the warehouse was very dark and eerie like something was about to go down. From that, she got what she thought. A single light was shone in the center to show an arena, and a woman's voice came on," Ebon Falke, please enter the arena." Ebon was hesitant.

" Go on," Sigini pushed. Ebon moved into the Arena.

"Good," the voice said, "Now, I have one question. Will you join me?"

Ebon debated what she was going to say," I do not know who you are and this may very well be a trap, so it is a no for now."

" Very well, will this change your mind." A column rose from the ground to the surface of the arena revealing someone, someone that made her heart almost stop. That 'someone' was her sister.

* * *

A/N:

Nice cliffhanger, wouldn't you agree.

So this chapter was supposed to be a transition chapter.

Not a lot going on.

By now I explained every main character.

Eirwen, Ivory, Leena, and Ebon.

Please, if you want, tell me which one is your favorite!

There was one other character that I mentioned, but explaining her is coming later.

Thanks for your continued support.


	6. Chapter 6: Truths

A/N:

Ok, This note part I really don't know what to say anymore.

I guess, thanks for reading this far.

I really appreciate it.

This chapter going to be cool.

The fellow comrade, Commissar Sarissa, has helped me once more in the fight department.

Please read his fic, Eastern Wolf.

Thank you, and enjoy.

* * *

Chapter 6

Truths

* * *

Ebon could not believe her eyes. Her sister was right in front of her. Her sister, that she has been she had been looking for for months. But, she looked different, very different. She was wearing oddly enough the same clothes she had when she had last seen her but had some new scars. Aura healed most scars, but there were some still prevalent on her arms and legs. "What did they do to you, " Ebon asked in a concerned tone. Ivory didn't answer. Ebon felt unjust rage growing inside.

"Hey! You! What did you do to her?!" She glared into the sky.

The speaker crackle on, "I did my job, you of all people should understand that."

Ebon was in a difficult mood of joy, relief, sadness, and confusion, but her anger, an emotion she didn't know why she posses, won over the battle for her mind. But she did not show it, subconsciously keeping it bottled with her semblance, "So, what do you what me to do." She wished to continue the conversation. Looking around herself.

"Simple. I want you to kill your sister."

Ebon was nonchalant at first, she responded a moment after processing the absurd request. "W-why do you want us to fight? Much less kill each other. She's my sister." She questioned and doubted with a sprightly calm town.

Without question, Ivory drew her tonfas. "Ivory, reall-, " she was cut off by Ivory rushing forward with a sudden burst of speed, holding her right arm back and pressed the other against her side.

Reacting with an annoyed growl, Ebon drew her folded weapon, bringing up to block as Ivory's never changing elbow swing. Before Ivory could throw yet another elbow swing, Ebon quicked her squarely in the stomach, forcing her a foot back. After that, Ebon unfolded Hiraeth Warden, "Ivory, don't do this." She deadpanned, resting her hammer on the cold floor. Ivory knitted her brow together, before launching herself in the same attack before. Ebon repeated her previous action, swinging her hammer in a diagonally. She evidently frowned as she noticed Ivory had not thrown herself in the air as she predicted. Strafing to the left, getting further under Ebon's guard. She sped forward from there, jamming both tonfas into her sister's gut, before striking her in the cheek with her right hand. She ended the flurry by punching through her sister's head, making sure her elbow blade chipped at her aura.

Letting her head rolled with the first blow, Ebon avoided most of the last strike, the tip of the elbow blade nicking her cheek. Growling, Ebon swung her hammer back around her head, swinging it at Ivory's left side in a fluid motion.

The headstrong Ivory, thinking she could beat her sister in physical strength, had the audacity to stand still and accept the blow, of course, crossing her tonfas and pressing them against her left side. The result, of course, was Her guard being broken, and herself being thrown back a few more feet as the head of the hammer was thrust through her stomach. Bringing back her hammer and resting it on her shoulder, Ebon walked forward. 'She's gotten faster, but still can't tell what's bigger than her little blades.'

* * *

Four years earlier

* * *

Ivory was staring down Ebon on a cold stormy evening. Cliché, to those who never went through the pain they had. The rain wept, confusing the drops of water on Ivory's face from tears and rain. "The humans did this! To our mother, Ebon! It's all their fault! Look at us! Look at our world! How can you not care?!" Ebon was looking down at the drowned grass. The water running down the small, titled mound of earth they stood upon. She did not respond. Too sad at her sister's fall and her truths. "Answer me! Answer me dearest sister of mine!" Her spitting hurt.

"They didn't do it alone; there was a Faunus ther-."

"That doesn't excuse the humans! That doesn't excuse anything! That doesn't excuse the world! Everything!.Everything they've done to us!" Ivory the face of pure rage. Nothing else could describe the fire in her eyes. "Sister, dearest sister of mine… If… if you don't want to take revenge, to right every wrong the humans have done… Then I will."

Ivory started stalking off the mound they used to play on as children. Heading to the forest, finishing her cry and growl. Ebon had to stop her, she had to try. In a sudden burst of speed, she appeared before Ivory. "Ivory... wait. " Ebon ordered with a blank, authoritarian voice." "If you want to leave, to kill and maim, to right all your wrongs by punishing those we worked side by side with… then you'll have to add my blood to your hands…"

Ivory let out a dry chuckle. "I thought the younger sibling was the difficult one. She made the first move.

She drew a single tonfa, already loaded, with her right hand. And shot Ebon twice in the shoulder. The dust bullets evaporated against Ebon's already thrown up aura. Ivory lately sped forward, not fully expecting her sister to be fully prepared for a duel. Planning to have the element of surprise on her side, which she did not, she expected to be able to land a free strike against her sister's head. Ebon, having not yet drawn her own weapon, caught Ivory's right fist, twisted it and punched her in the wrist, causing Ivory to sporadically drop her Tonfa.

Still being encased in Ebon's iron grip, Ivory twisted and side kicked Ebon in the stomach, forcing her to release Ivory and stumble backward. Ivory pressed on, sliding forward and kicking again with the same leg. Lowering her head to the ground with the last kick, she caught Ebon in the chin.

Squaring herself, She slid back, only to press forward once more, she stepped forward with her right leg and spun around, bringing up her left heel, kicked forward. Ebon was forced back even further, finally getting around to placing one hand on her weapon's grip. Ivory, in that same kick that had missed Ebon's head, swung her leg back around to make a roundhouse kick. Finally recovering from the initial shock of actually participating in a deathmatch with her sister, she grabbed Ivory's foot, dropped it to the ground, and did the same kick back at her in the same movement, catching Ivory in the back of the head.

Having taken multiple steps away from the mound they spoke on, Ebon's kick knocked Ivory to a nearby tree. Ebon finally drew her weapon and charged towards Ivory. Though, she stopped out of confusion as Ivory simply laid slumped against the tree. Ebon sighed, dropping her weapon on the ground and holding it up by leaning on the hilt. "Give it up, Ivory. You one girl against nearly the entirety of the world. Just… come home, or at least find one with me." Ivory looks up, with a grimace. She didn't want this to be the battle that lost her the war. The war could be lost as soon as she got revenge for their mother. Her mother. She had to do something, this couldn't be the end of all her dreams and desires. Not even in peace.

Ebon stood maybe a foot away from her. Waiting for a response as she leisurely laid on her weapon.

Ivory let out a long, tired sigh, already channeling her aura into her raw arms.

"I'm sorry. But I have to. Unlike you, I just don't give up once something that can and will be stopped passes a foot ahead of you. I'm doing this for our- MY mother!" Ivory spat. throwing her arms into an X to make a large barrier that immediately exploded, both blowing and blinding Ebon back while scorching both her for arms.

When Ebon came to, throwing herself up past the buzzes and blurs, noticed a large crater in front of the same place that the Ivory laid at and, when standing. a trail of trees lined away from where she was standing as well. Shaking her head, she knelt down and punched the ground. Muttering under her breath.

"First… my mother, now… you..."

* * *

Present day

* * *

They were at a standstill in that arena. Both Ebon's strength and Ivory speed tearing the breath out of the sisters. The duel lasting for thirty minutes offered no help to their already tired position. Ebon noted that Ivory had kept all her exhausted attacks precise, while Ivory noted all of Ebon's attacks, though slowing, still struck hard as time and time she proved she could easily bypass her thrown up defenses. They rush each other in one last attempt until a voice stopped them.

"Alright, cut!" The voice said out of the blue. Ebon stopped mid-swing, letting her hammer fall back as she was truly exhausted by the dual. Completely ignoring her sister, who had not said a word beside the grunts and moans, spoke into the air.

" Wha-what do you mean? 'cut'?"

"I, uh, mean the fight is over."

Her sister blew a sigh, the initial thought and mentality of a deathmatch blew away.

" Hmph. Holding back is harder than expected. Though the exhaustion, not so much. Heh. Gods, you're sister's fighting style is quite… dull. Honestly, she expects to chip away at her opponent's defenses with the same attack, and hopes to herself that she won't get hit as often." Ivory spoke in a completely different voice, shrugging her shoulders." Ivory tapped her cheek and the display folded back. Revealing a different face.

"Anyway, Ebon Falke, you have passed the test." Ebon gave many dull blinks at the woman masquerading as her sister.

" Y-y-you... Who… What... are you?"

"Hmm? Oh. I am Eirwen Roanfaust, pleased to- no. Actually, That you should be saying, anyway, I wish for you to join me. And don't worry, all your travel expenses, including that little incident, are all covered." said Eirwen, with a hand, held out.

Ebon hesitated, still processing the end of the proposed deathmatch, the sudden disappearance of what she thought to be her sister, and how she knew about the traffickers.

"I don't know yet, being paid for the trip here sounds great, but… I'm kinda missing my sister." Ebon joked as she cleared her mind.

"Hmph, Very well. Oh, and Ivory, do drop the act." The speaker crackle on and cut off just as fast.

"Oh, good. 'Ello Sis!" Ebon, once more, found difficulty in believing everything. 'How can they just switch places like that?' Eirwen walked in front of Ebon.

"Here, how about this. At least hear what I have to say, but not here, we will discuss this somewhere else with your, actual sister," She gestured to herself. "Also, does the other person agree?" Eirwen looked up at the spectator box. A spotlight swung to said box. The figure of Leena was caught by surprise by the sudden spotlight, having stood there the entire time to observe the previous match.

" I-I guess."

Eirwen moved on from the random appearance of her, "Well, that settles her, how about you?"

Taking a long breath, Ebon decided to roll with the sudden events firing in quick succession and agreed.

"We'll talk after I see my real sister." A crooked smile lit up on Eirwen's face.

" Splendid!" Eirwen took another step forward and held Ebon's tired hands resting at her sides. " Sig, could you lead our other guest to the bullhead."

" Yeah, yeah, I got it," Signi shouted back at Eirwen, appearing in the spectator's booth. A faint echo revealed his next words, "Ms. Halloran, please, this way."

"Alright." They disappeared beyond some doors leading somewhere in the compound. Leaving both Eirwen and Ebon alone in the ring.

"My sister is perfectly fine, right?"

"Yes, she is, but her, erm, fashion choices, uh…" She looked down at herself. "Could use some improvement. Now, let's go." Eirwen had walked the both of them towards an elevator that appeared and opened at the press of a button and motioned Ebon in. Still slightly hesitant, she took a step in and stop at the side of Eirwen. Eirwen leaned forward and pressed the top button on the elevator. The elevator smoothly started to go up. The ride was mostly in silence which was unsettling for Ebon, given everything she had experienced in under three minutes, but the elevator ride ended sooner than she thought. As Eirwen left the elevator out on the roof, she whispered something unnecessary, but self-desired in Ebon's ear with a sicking smile only she knew of.

"Those scars you saw..., they were mine." Ebon was completely silent, wearing a straight face as they walked down the paved path to the bullhead waiting for them.

* * *

A/N:

Wow, what a chapter.

Got this one out little early.

Hope you liked it.

Onwards, to the mysterious place that Eirwen is taking them.

(P.S: Here is a hint for the next chapter: Mirror, Mirror)


	7. Chapter 7: A Gathering

A/N:

Really, really sorry for not posting on time.

There was Thanksgiving so there was not a lot of time to get to the computer.

Whatever it is, I'm getting it out now so, that is good.

Really hope you enjoy.

(I do not own RWBY)

* * *

Chapter 7

A Gathering

* * *

The ride started off silent, only the purr of the Bullhead's engines was present.

'Who is she really,' Ebon pondered. She was going through the events that occurred recently. Fighting her sister in a deathmatch, then it was revealed that she was fighting someone else instead. Also, the imposter adds that she was "Holding back" which leads to the question of how much strength Eirwen had. That let a shiver down her spine. Everything about Eirwen felt unnerving to her. After examining these events closely, she found one more that was in the back of her head. 'She told me that the scars that I saw where hers.' That was the part that got her. 'What did she go through.' After some deep thought, Ebon finally opened her eyes to see a shaking Leena. "Leena," Ebon whispered," is this your first time on a bullhead?" Leena nodded. "Oh, well just know that nothing bad is going to happen, alright?" Leena took a deep breath and started to calm down.

Sigini was looking out a window when the to girls on her right where speaking to each other. Interested, she leaned over. "So, guys, whatcha talking about," Sigini said in a cheerful tone. Ebon and Leena were taken aback by Sigini sudden appearance. 'Too cheerful then,' thought Signi,' man, the energy drinks are kicking in.' "Ahm," Signi corrected her posture then spoke softer," so whatcha talking about."

Ebon responded," First, are you the real you or are you another imposter."

Sigini was surprised by her response," Shesh, didn't know you were this paranoid."

" I am still confused about what is going given the fact that someone else was my sister," she pointed towards Eirwen, who was sound asleep," also, why is she sleeping so soundly in this situation?"

"So, she kind of has this problem that she randomly falls asleep, due to her past."

" Oh, I didn't know." This confirmed that Eirwen had a rough past. Not intending to pry further, she decided to change topics. "So anyway, you still have not answered my question yet."

" Oh, yeah, I'm real."

"Ok, second, who are you?"

" I'm Sigini but call me Sig."

' Ok, at least there is no immediate threats on the bullhead so I will let my guard down for a little bit.' Ebon released her aura and felt like a big weight left her shoulders, but she knew that was impossible." So, do you know where we are going?"

"I can't tell you, it's a surprise," Sigini hinted in a mischievous tone. 'Why did I say it like that, it just sounds plain wrong!' Sigini was mentally hitting her head against a wall.

' Hmm, it might be a trap, I need to ready myself for that outcome,' planed Ebon.

Sigini wanted to change the mood," So, how did you get here?" Sigini already knew this because they had an agent follow them the entire way. 'Well, changing the mood is changing the mood so whatever.'

Eirwen woke to the sound of the girls on her right were talking about something but she couldn't catch on. 'I really need to fix my sleeping schedule,' Eirwen thought. She reminisced about the time when she was in captivity by the white fang. She could barely sleep due to constant beatings. 'Those were terrible times but was necessary to gain strength.' This had almost put a malicious smile on her face but was interrupted by a buzz of her scroll. She pulled it out of her coat and noticed it was from the CEO of the Schnee Dust Company, Weiss Schnee. Eirwen was curious why she was messaging her especially for the fact that Weiss must be busy for being a CEO.

Eirwen opened the message tab and the message read," When you have time, could you meet me at Schnee Mansion."

Eirwen responded with," I will make time today if I make ask, what is this meeting for?"

Weiss responded," You'll see :)" Eirwen chucked to herself at the motion. As she put her scroll away, the pilot announced that they were near the landing pad and everyone needs to be seated. By this time, the girls were finished with their conversation and Sigini went back to her seat.

When they arrived, Ebon and Leena were amazed at how ornate the mansion looked. The mansion had an ice-filled garden with frost covered shrubs and columns surrounding it in a symmetric pattern. There were ice sculptures of all sorts of Grimm that looked so life-like. "Those of you looking at the ice, those were real Grimm frozen by my father," Eirwen answered the gazes of Ebon and Leena.

"So this is all yours," Leena asked.

" At the time, yes."

" How?"

" Well, it is because that my family is one of the noble families of Atlas, the Roenfausts. We are only second to the Schnees." The word Schnee rung in both Leena and Ebon. The Schnees were associated with the Schnee Dust Company, the largest dust manufacturer in the entire world of Remnant. They also were the White Fangs main target, due to the fact of the company's labor force being the majority being Faunus. Hearing this, Ebon needed to confirm something but they already arrived at the front door. A human butler was stationed at the large double doors. " Mistress Eirwen, welcome back. Who are these guest that are accompanying you?"

Eirwen responded in an angelic voice," These are my new teammates, and could you prepare 4 cups of my finest brew of tea. Also, prepare 3 rooms for them, and bring them to the lobby to serve them tea."

" Right away, Mistress." The butler dashed off to get the tea, and the group entered to head to the lobby. As they entered there was a row of maids on each side, bowing in respect to their master. While they walked past, Ebon and Leena minds clicked in as the heard the words "teammates". There was a shared surprise in those word by Ebon and Leena. Ebon decided to investigate further later, so in doing so, she noticed that some of the maids were Faunus. Ebon knew that she shouldn't get angry just because some Faunus were maids. 'I have to ask them myself.'

Leena looked around as they were walking through the halls, and noticed how rich this family was. The portraits look like world-class artists painted them, the sculptures looked like they were from the Great War, and the sets of armor look as if they were alive. 'Ok, this is getting creepy.' She refocused on the group, but they already reached their destination. The lobby was a grand place, showing off the skylight on the roof, the front window, the ice chandelier, and the openness of the room, in general, felt like royalty. Eirwen stopped and looked at the group with a hand pointed towards the middle of the lobby," Please be seated." Everyone took up Eirwen's offer and sat down.

" Wow, these seats are comfy," Signi noted. Eirwen obviously saw that she was trying to lighten the mood.

" Ok, since the tea is coming here, let's invite another guest." Eirwen took her scroll out to call up someone, then put it away. Right after the call ended, loud footsteps were heard from a nearby staircase. Ebon, being not prepared, was suddenly hugged from behind.

" Sis," exclaimed the voice from behind. From that voice, Ebon knew who it was.

" Ivory, is that you," questioned Ebon.

" Yes, that's me." Ebon got up, turned around and hugged Ivory tightly.

" I thought I lost you, forever and ever." Ebon was on the verge of tears.

Ivory slightly pulled out of the embrace," you almost did, until Eirwen saved me." Eirwen was leaning against a column, holding a fake smile as they looked toward, even to go so far as to wave back. As the tea came around, everyone took a cup except Eirwen.

" Mistress, will you not have some tea."

" No, I will be alright."

" Very well, as you say, Mistress." The maid left the room with the tea plate. As everyone was reconnecting the past events, Eirwen beckoned Signi over to a dark corner of the room. Seeing that if Eirwen does that, she knew that it was important. Signi walk over to the dark corner, expecting some conversation about assassinations or what not but she did not expect what Eirwen said.

" I have a meeting with Weiss Schnee, so I need you to answer their questions the best you can and show them to their rooms."

Signi was relieved," Whew, nothing about killing people."

" And why would you think that?"

" Well, you are, so you."

" Come on, life isn't about killing, it's about savoring it in all aspects," said with a small grin, " I have to go, good luck Sig."

"Alright, by-." she was cut off by a kiss on the cheek by Eirwen as she left through the corridor they came through. Signi was blushing hard. 'I told her, not in public.' Shaking her head, she decided to rejoin the main group when they noticed the Eirwen wasn't there. "Hey, where Eirwen," Ivory asked.

" Oh, she had to take care of something," replied Signi. " Anyway, she told me to answer questions and take you guys to your rooms." Ebon was the first to ask," So, what is Eirwen to you."

" What type of question is that!" Sigini slightly blushed.

" A good question."

" W-We're good friends," Signi said while she is looking away and twirling her hair," anyway, any other questions."

Leena was the next," sorry for asking, but my curiosity has gotten the better of me so, what happened with your arm."

" It's fine, I got over it. So the reason I have this arm is that I lost it in a grim attack and built the one you see here to replace it. In that attack, I also lost my father."

" I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked."

" Don't be, once I start, I should finish," she cleared her throat," When I was young, my family lived on the outskirts of Atlas. Living there was rough, but my father was an excellent mechanic. Oh yeah, we were there in the first place because my father didn't like living in the city. It's weird because my father job was in the city so he just created more of a hassle for him. Anyway,besides him, there was my mother. She was a full-time huntress, but when I was born, she made that part-time. My mother was like any other loving, caring mother. Unfortunately, her being a huntress, she went on a mission and never came back. However, my father took it upon himself to become both roles in the family. He quit his job to take care of me and made our home into a private mechanic company. From there, he taught me some combat and how to be, necessarily, a mechanic. Every time I thought of my mom, he came over and told that I needed to be strong for her. So I did just that. For a while, I was happy, having fun with my dad, but then that day came."

* * *

Four years ago

* * *

Sigini was huffing a small pile of firewood through the forest back to her Father's shop. They had to prepare for the coming winter because, in Atlas, winter was the most brutal time of year. As she was running, she came across a lone juxtapose sticking out of a snow mound. Sigini was so mesmerized that she involuntarily walked towards it. The closer she got to the flower, the more inviting it felt. Suddenly, she was snapped out of her trance as she heard a Beowulf howl coming from her Father's shop. Knowing that wasn't normal, she ran as fast as possible towards the shop.

When she arrived, there was a pack of Beowulf with the Alpha leading the group. Against them, her father was standing alone, with his trusty hammer at his side. " Sig, go downstairs to the safe and take the weapon outside," her father exclaimed. Seeing the gravity of the situation, she dropped the wood and ran into the shop. As she entered, she heard the distant clangs of claw and metal and prayed for the best. After finding the safe hidden in one of the wall panels, she remembered the code her father taught her in case of emergency. Seeing the obvious emergency, she entered the code. When the locks released and the doors opened, Signi was surprised. Inside the safe was a gauntlet that was the size of the entire safe. She lifted it out of the safe with utmost care, thinking it was heavy, but realized that it was very light. Given the weight, she ran back up the stairs. When she arrived at the door to the shop, she couldn't believe her eyes. Her father was all bloody with both his blood and the Beowulf's. As the alpha came in for another attack, he attempted to block it but was fainted and hit his side. The force of that impact launched him all the way to the shop wall, where he slid down to the snow.

" Dad," Signi exclaimed as she rushed to his side.

He coughed out some blood then spoke in a low voice," Sig, you've been a good girl for years, your mother would have been proud." He coughed some more," but now you have to be stronger than the both of us. Use the gauntlet that your mother made and make this family proud."

Signi started sobbing," N-no dad, y-you can't l-leave yet, n-not now, I h-have so much t-to learn."

Her father put a hand on her face," there's no time for crying, Sig, only winning." He finally gave out.

Signi wiped her tears off her face and composed herself," your right dad, time to win." Signi got up and put on the gauntlet. It powered on immediately, having dust pre-loaded. "Time for you bitches to pay."

The beowulfs howled and looked at their new prey. Gaining a new interest, 3 Beowulf charged her. Signi lifted up her gauntlet and directed it at them. She pulled the trigger and a blue blast came out of her hand, vaporizing all three. 'Wow, that is a lot of power, maybe I need to tune it down a little.' They were stunned at the power but pressed forward. Another one came up by her side and Signi ducked under the swipe. She thrust her palm into the beowulf's side and activated the blade. It immediately impaled it, instantly killing it. 'Oh, it has a blade too, hell yeah!' She deactivated the blade and pulled off.

"So, it's just you and me," said Signi as she and the Alpha were the only ones left. They started to circle each other, looking for an opening one of them can exploit. Upon closer inspection, it looks as though the Alpha has been through a lot of battles. It had multiple scars throughout its body and had nicked bone in some places. The Alpha made it move. It rushed in full speed, toward Signi, looking to take a swipe at her side. Signi, reading this, dodged in time. The Alpha howled in anger and took another swing. Signi dodged backward to gain some distance.'At least my training paid off,' Signi thought. This time the Alpha rushed forward with claws bared. 'Huh, running at me with all you got, you got to be kidding me.' Sigini prepared to block, thinking it was a last ditch effort, but she was very wrong. It feinted the block to spun around her. 'What are you-.' With one clean chop, it sliced through Signi weak aura and her right arm with. After this action, the Alpha backed off as a precaution.

Signi was in shock. She didn't know that her aura was so low. As she fell to her knees and looked to the sky, she felt a hand on her shoulder. She looked up that hand and saw her mother. "Now Now, you aren't that weak. You have to be the strongest. For me and your father."

" But I can't, the Alpha is too strong. I've lost my weapon, my arm, dad, and you. What else can I do!" Sigini had tears in her eyes for her weakness.

" No, you are not done, not yet." Her mother walked to the gauntlet." I made this for you to use, not to throw away. So rise up and make us proud Sig!" Her mother started to fade.

" Yes, I can." Something in Signi unlocked. She slowly got up with blood dripping down her side from the loss of her right arm. She walked over to the gauntlet, picked it up with her other arm, and restarted it. The Alpha was on guard by this sudden occurrence but was pleased by this fighting spirit. It rushed forward to Signi. Right before the strike landed, she vanished. The Alpha was confused but was surprised by a fist to the side that launched it to the nearby tree. The Alpha tried to regain composure but looked down to a blade to the chest, then was lifted up in the air. After, Signi pulled the trigger. Several pieces of the Alpha rained down from the sky as blood stained the area surrounding Signi as well as herself. "That's what you get, bastard." Then, she collapsed.

After a while of darkness, she heard a voice. "Hey hey, are you alive." Signi opened her eyes to see a girl about her age crouched over her with grayish-white eyes and crystal white hair. As she stirred, the girl stood up to give her some room. Upon further inspection, it seemed that she had a black and red uniform that was ripped on certain parts but was mostly covered by a winter jacket. "So you are alive, thank goodness."

* * *

A/N:

Well, the cliffhangers are endless.

That is for sure.

I will fix my updating schedule to be more consistent.

I'm off to see the wizard.

The wonderful wizard of Oz.


	8. Chapter 8: A Snowy Occurrence

A/N:

So this is kind of like a part two to chapter 7

That is why it is short

The next chapter is in production

So I hope you enjoy

I don't own RWBY

* * *

Chapter 8

A Snowy Occurrence

* * *

"Who are you?" weakly asked Signi.

"My name is Eirwen, and you?"

"Signi, but call me Sig."

"Alright, Sig, do you remember what happened here?" asked Eirwen. Signi explained the fight and how her father died in that fight. "That must be unfortunate, losing a father like that." Signi was surprised at her response. " I apologize for talking about it."

"No big deal now. What are we going to do?" Signi pondered that a bit but looked to her right.

"Oh right, I don't have a right arm," Signi said jokingly. "I guess I have to make one now."

"Ok, I'll help you with that," said Eirwen with an honest face.

"Do you know dust engineering or anything about the human body?"

Eirwen had a sad look on her face looking down and had her two pointer fingers hitting each other, "N-no."

"I guess that was a good try."

"I have money and resources," said Eirwen with a brightened face.

"Wait… how?"

Eirwen put her hand on her collarbone and let out a laugh," I am the daughter of a noble military family of Atlas, so I do." Signi was imagining sparkles surrounding Eirwen

"Wow, pretty flashy."

"So are we going to start?"

"Well, I got nothing else to do, so yeah, but I have to do something first." Signi got up and started hobbling over to her father's corpse. "We need to lay someone to rest."

They placed the last shovel of snow over the small mound where a single flower stood. They stood there in silence for a while. Signi was the first to speak. "So, how did you get here?"

Eirwen opened her eyes and turned towards Signi, "I had to run away from some bad people."

Seeing Eirwen's apparent age, she came to a conclusion. "So you didn't run away from your parents?"

Eirwen pulled a cold look, "I couldn't run away from my parents if they're dead."

Signi was unsettled by the awkward silence afterward. "Anyway, we should get to work," Eirwen said in a cheery mood.

"Alright then." They started for the shop.

-  
Two years later after the event

Eirwen was at the door to Romanova's Mechanical Shop when she was reminiscing what happened that day. She took a deep breath and opened the door. She entered the lobby with a chime at the door. That chime was followed by a series of bangs and bumps above her as the shop owner rushes to receive the customer. After a few moments, the door behind the counter opened with a start with an exhausted girl with no right arm, a cyborg eye, and an apron. "Welcome to Romanova's Mechanical Shop," the girl said between huffs, "How may I- Oh it's you."

The girl's mood improved significantly at Eirwen arrival. "Hello, Sig, have you been doing well?"

Signi straightened her posture," Yes, I have, but business is not." Her expression changed to a droopy one. "Not a lot of people come out here apparently."

Eirwen put a hand on Signi's head. "That might be the case, but, you still are my go-to mechanic."

Signi started blushing. "Aw, stop it." She tried to resist, but couldn't. At least, Signi got away but that required a lot of effort. "Alright, enough of that! Do you have what I requested?" Eirwen pointed to the bag she carried. "Good, to the lair!" They walked over to the back door behind the counter. Eirwen was reminiscing about all the time they had going back and forth. As they entered the room, Signi flicked on the lights.

The room was in the same state as the last time she visited. Parts were scattered everywhere, clothes were draped along some hanging parts, and different colored rags were all over the place. It felt like normal. The only thing different was the center table. On that table was Signi's new project that they had worked on for two years together. "And here we have the new arm." The arm was of simple design on the exterior with a plain gray but has a very complicated interior of various circuits that could perform all the tasks a regular arm could do. Eirwen could not help but marvel at their accomplishment. Signi fidgeted with a scroll pad and a part of the arm opened up. "Alright, now for the last piece." Signi held out a hand outstretched towards Eirwen. Knowing what she meant, Eirwen opened her satchel and revealed an object. This object was a proto-Dust core that was rumored to be able to run forever, and those rumors are partly true.

"You know, getting this core was a very difficult process, so I hope this works."

"Yeah, yeah, I'll treat you to some ice cream, now come on." enticed by the offer, she handed the core to Signi as she inserted it into the arm. "Now for this part, I need your help."

"Whatever you say." Eirwen helped position the arm into Signi's arm joint which resulted in a confirmative click. Signi tapped on her scroll pad again and the arm activated. She was slowly moving the arm till it was natural.

"Yes, it works!" she pumped her "new" arm up in the air. "Hi-five!" Her arm was answered with another arm being Eirwen's. "Now, time to sync it." She took two cords out, one for her arm and another for her neck. Eirwen had forgotten that Signi also had a cybotic right eye because, a little bit after that event, she noticed that she could not see out of her right eye either. After she synced them, Signi retracted the cords. "Let's test it." Signi headed for the door, picking up her gauntlet on the way out. "This is going to be fun."

"You bet." Eirwen had laid out a set of ice targets for Signi to test.

"I didn't know you controlled ice."

"Well, that _is_ my semblance, now hurry up, it's going to melt."

"Yeah, yeah, but couldn't you make more?"

"The sun will still melt it."

"Ok then." Signi used her right arm to equip her gauntlet and powered it up. "I've actually made some adjustments to the gauntlet so the power is more controlled." Signi raised her gauntlet towards the first target and fired. The blast completely annihilated the target. She continued to do so with the other targets.

"That is some splendid marksmanship!"Eirwen saw the power she had and thought that it can be better than what she saw today in a few years of practice.

"I say, I'm pretty good," Signi said, patronizing herself. Suddenly, a Beowulf jumped out of the bushes to slash at Signi's back.

"Watch out!" Eirwen tackled Signi out of the way and launched an ice javelin to impale the Beowulf. Her attack was successful and the Beowulf disintegrated. Eirwen was on top of Signi who was laying on the ground, and both of her hands were on top of Signi's arms.

"Ha… ha... what an awkward position."

"Yeah, you're right." Both of them were blushing hard at how close they were to each other. "Well, I guess I can tell you now."

" What?" Eirwen let go of Signi's arms and straightened her back. She started unbuttoning her black and red military uniform. "W-wait what are y-you-," Eirwen's jacket fell to the ground, exposing her pure white skin and black ornate bra. Signi was extremely red in the face, but it all flushed away when she saw the scars. They were everywhere, from her stomach all the way to her back. Stab wounds, sword swipes, whip marks, she had all these marks along her body.

"When I told you I had to run away from some bad people, those bad people were the White Fang. They did this to me because I was a Noble." Eirwen's voice got lower and lower as she spoke. "They did this to me even after they took away my father and my mother." She began to sob. "I don't know what to-," Signi pulled her into an embrace.

"It's okay now, you have me," she pulled out slightly, "You have it much worse than me. Us two together, we can get through anything." Signi flashed a smile. Eirwen hugged back.

"Thank you." On that day, in that forest, Eirwen finally found the someone. That someone who will make her complete. She would do anything to keep her by her side, no matter the cost. Eirwen grew a small grin on her face. This was going to be fun.

* * *

A/N:

Yay pairings

It was hinted earlier

anyway, on to the next


	9. Chapter 9: A First

A/N:

Alright, I know this is late, but it is a good chapter.

What I mean is that I worked extra hard on this one.

Well, I was looking at the views, I was like.

'I could do better.'

With that in mind, I now have a full-time editor so the works might be better.

In this chapter, I have a few references in characters you might know.

With that in mind, let's begin.

* * *

Chapter 9

A First

* * *

"So, that's the story of how a lost my arm and met Eirwen." They were still in the lobby and the teacups were taken by the maids.

"That was...a very interesting story," Ebon commented.

"Yes it was," added Leena. While the group was socializing, Sigini's scroll buzzed. Curious, she detached from the group to check. As she opened it up, she found that it was from Eirwen. It read, "Change of plans, tell everyone to go to bed to wake up early tomorrow. If they ask questions, tell them I said so." Sigini was surprised at Eirwen's urgent message.

"Why? Did something happen?"

Eirwen replied, "Not particularly, I just wanted to change the meeting place."

Sigini responded with an 'Ok' and put away her scroll. 'Weird, she doesn't do this kind of stuff.' She walked back into the lobby where Leena was telling jokes.

"Knock knock."

"Who's there?" Ebon answered in a stoic voice.

"Pencil."

"Pencil who?"

"Nevermind, it's pointless."

"Uuuugh." Ebon was cringing at the joke.

"What did I just walk into?" asked Sigini, who was stopped by a chair.

"Pain," moaned Ebon.

"Come on, that was just one joke," Leena said.

"I actually thought some of those were funny," added Ivory.

"Well, the last one I got from a traveling huntress."

"Do you know her name so I can tell her to stop making those jokes?"

" Unfortunately, I do not. However, I do remember her being blonde."

Sigini was baffled, "So the entire time, you guys were telling bad jokes?"

"Not the _entire_ time," retorted Leena.

"Well, we did talk about our backgrounds and how we got here, but there wasn't much to talk about," added Ivory.

Sigini sighed, "Anyway, we need to go to bed."

"Aww, why now?" whined Ivory.

"Because we are waking up early tomorrow to go somewhere. Also, Eirwen said so," stated Sigini.

"Alright," said Ivory in a defeated tone. The 4 girls marched up the stairs and Sigini showed each of them their individual rooms.

* * *

"Ok, this is your room. A maid will bring some new clothes for you in the morning. For now, just sleep. Good night." Sigini shut the door on her way out. Ebon had so many thoughts after all that has happened that she never had time to just sit by herself and think. 'Alright, today has been very eventful. I found my sister, she was acting strangely. I fought her, but she was not her, but Eirwen. She then proceeds to ask me to join her after fighting me in a deathmatch. Better yet, why are we going to bed early? Why are we staying in here in general?!' The turmoil that conjoined with her mind was boiling over, so she sat on the bed in a cross-legged position and started to meditate. Trying to shake thoughts out of her head, she concentrated harder. After a while, her mind felt clear and calm. She was pulling the covers of the bed to go to sleep, but there was a knock at the door.

"Ebon, it's me, Leena. Can I come in?"

"Yeah." As she entered, Leena was in a white nightgown provided by the maids that matched her hair. Her eyes shined beautifully in the shining moonlight came through the window, which made Ebon blush, but due to her training, was not showing. "So, what's up?" She pulled up a chair from the tea table and sat in it in front of Ebon.

"So given what is happening, I wanted your opinion on something. Do you trust Eirwen?"

Ebon had to think a little on that one, "I still don't trust her, but she supposedly saved my sister so that is what I am going on. We have to wait until tomorrow to see what her real motives are."

"Well, she did call us teammates," Leena added.

"Well, I thought that was weird at first, but then there are two places that can be: The military or the Academy."

Leena was thinking it over, "So, we could be tangled in something way greater than ourselves?"

Ebon thought over it as well, 'Are we really tangled up in something greater than ourselves?' She shook her head, "We can not jump to conclusions in one word. I think we should trust her for now till she shows her true colors."

Leena seemed relieved, "Alright, if you kind of trust her, I guess I will too." She got up and put the chair back, "Well, good night."

"Good night." After Leena left the room, Ebon laid back in bed and pulled the covers over with the full intention of sleeping a good night's sleep, but there was one thought that lingered in her mind. 'Do I like Leena?'

* * *

Next Morning

* * *

Ebon awoke to the sound of an alarm blaring in her head. Lazily, she moved her free hand to hit the snooze button. After a couple of tries, she finally hit the button. She stirred from the bed and let out a yawn. After, she got out and went to the dresser. On top was a set of clothes covered by a cloth and a note, stating: "Dear Ebon, I hope you slept well. I have lain out a uniform for you to wear for today's venture. Please get ready in a timely manner and meet me at the front door." Ebon put down the note and moved the cloth. Revealed, was an Atlas school uniform. Ebon knew what was going on. When she looked up, she noticed that her hair was very unkempt, so she decided to play along with Eirwen's plan.

As she got out of the shower, she thought of how nice the water felt on her skin. She walked over to the dresser looked in the mirror again. She turned around to show her back. Down her back, was a trail of black feathers that ended at her tailbone. She didn't tell most people that she was a Goose Faunus, even though that was a bit silly, however, that was the reason she kept it hidden. The people in Atlas aren't too kind to Faunus so it was another reason to keep it hidden. She put on the uniform and was surprised at how well it fit her and her feathers. Styling her hair like she always did, Ebon picked up her Hiraeth Warden and went out the door.

She looked down both sides of the hallway. Ebon was slightly unnerved at the eerie silence that held the hallway. No matter, she memorized how to get to the door of the mansion and headed there. When she arrived, it was apparent that she was the last one left. Ivory and Leena had their uniforms on, but Signi did not. "Hey Sig, why don't you have a uniform?"

Sigini turned around towards the sound of the voice, "Look who arrived. And, to answer your question, I'm not going with you."

Ivory ran and hugged Ebon. "Sis, you finally came!"

Ebon was surprised," Ivy, I didn't know you were this energetic."

"You know, I feel changed lately. Maybe because you're around again," answered Ivory with a smile.

"That is my little sis for you." Ebon was rubbing Ivory head.

"Alright, let's not keep Eirwen waiting," Leena interjected.

"Right," The four opened the front door to the outside. The rising sun was over the garden that refracted the light, making a beautiful sight. At the end of the garden, Eirwen was waiting for them with a bullhead already fired up and ready. As they came closer, they noticed that Eirwen was wearing the same uniform. A grey blouse with white short sleeves that included a small black tie and a grey skirt. She was also wearing grey pantyhoses that extended down to her black boots. She had black long gloves cover her hands to the middle of her biceps. Accompanying that outfit, was a single ponytail of crystal white hair.

"Ready to go?" Eirwen asked with a smile.

"Yup," Ivory said in anticipation.

* * *

There was a very strange atmosphere within their transport. Leena and Ivory were the most excited, Eirwen was fast asleep, and Ebon was meticulously started planning what to do next. 'Given these uniform, we are heading to Atlas Academy, the Huntsman school of the Kingdom of Atlas. The headmaster of that school is the general of the entire Atlesian Army, General Ironwood. Are we heading there as students? Are we really going to school? What is Eirwen going to do with us?' Ebon hated it went she went on tangents like these but that is the burden of her semblance. She looked outside the window of the bullhead to see the beautiful tundra below them that seemed endless, however, this was overshadowed by a huge "Dust" Storm of Ice in the distance. Feeling that storm is obviously going to hit them eventually, Ebon shivered at the thought. As she came back to the window, it looked like a completely different landscape. Instead of a tundra, she was greeted by violent, and aggressive rocks the looked to heading diagonally. 'So we are finally here.'

Sigini was watching Ebon's reaction the entire time she was looking out the window. 'Now that is comedy gold,' she chuckled to herself. Laying across some chair with her back propped up the bag of gear they had, she decided to have a look outside as well and saw the rock. Seeing the rocks, she knew that they were close. Sigini swivels herself to the right to place her legs on the bullhead floor and proceeded to get up to wake Eirwen. After receiving a small metallic finger to the skull, Eirwen awoke with a start. "You alright?" Sigini asked in a concerned tone. Eirwen wiped the sweat off her forehead, "I-It happened again," Eirwen said in a wobbly voice. When Sigini heard that response, she hugged Eirwen tightly. "It's alright, it's alright."

"Still remember her face as she was beaten and I couldn't do anything."

"Come on, in that situation, you couldn't really do anything. You are a proud member of the Roenfaust family. There is strength behind that name." Sigini reassured her the best she could. "Anyway, we're close to the school."

"Oh, ok." Eirwen steadied herself on the top rail above her seat straightened her posture.

* * *

'Wow, I haven't gotten that dream in a while,' Eirwen thought to herself, 'Well, given the problems I have in my life, that is normal. I need to act scared to keep Sig around me. That is the only way to keep her.' Eirwen looked over to Ebon, who was back in her seat, facing forward. 'Ebon looks still skeptical about me? Well, that is unfortunate, but in time she will trust me because of our cause.' She looked over to Leena, who was staring out the windows. 'Ah Leena Halloran, a sea lion faunus, former White Fang member, and an unexpected occurrence. That being said she looks like she is daydreaming so no need for concern.' She finally looked at Ivory, who was contently swinging her legs back and forth. 'Ah, my little flower, if everything went to plan, she wouldn't doubt me one bit.' Eirwen hosted a little sadistic laugh under her breath. 'Though using people proves to be very enjoyable, we need to start as soon as possible.' Eirwen walked to the back door of the bullhead and faced the four girls. Eirwen cleared her throat to get the girls' attention, which was successful. "We are here today because I brought you here and you may have already assumed where we are going, but let me state the facts to ease those assumptions. We are going to Atlas Academy to go to school, however, that is not our full intent. Our real reason there is to use the facilities there to begin our investigation." Ebon looked interested.

"So what are we really doing at school and not becoming huntresses?"

"When we land, I will tell you but right now, enjoy the view." Eirwen pointed to the windows. Everyone looked out and was greeted with the sight of Atlas Academy.

Leena looked out the window to see the beautiful school. Using her sight, she looked at the school more closely. There was a landing pad is where bigger ship than the bullhead they were on that looked like a bigger fish that was dropping off students. Those same students were walking on a stone pathway that had lamp-like light lining it with fire dust crystals powering each light. Also, there were square-off frost scrubs with the lamps lining the pathway as well. The path leads to a very large door that has the Kingdom of Atlas symbol inscribed onto it. On the outer sides of the path, there were several buildings of gothic design that looks for military purposes. The overall feel of the landscape is very serious and industrial just like how Atlas feels.

After the moment of awe, Ivory was the first to speak up. "So are we landing there?" she asked as she pointed towards the pad where the students where being dropped off.

"We would if we were normal students. However, we are not," Eirwen answered.

"Then, where are we landing?"

"Here." As soon as Eirwen said that, the back bay door opened, exposing the five girls to the cold winter air. Eirwen opened the extra bag they brought to reveal five black and red fur-lined trench coats. The fur in question was of a blackish color. "Take these," Eirwen said as she passed out the coats, "Also, the fur has been skinned off several Beowulfs then synthetically made to not disappear." Everyone shivered as they put on the coats. "Mind you, they also block out all emotional energy radiating off of your souls, so you can be technically cloaked in a pack of Grimm. Also, they keep you warm, so that's a plus," said Eirwen while she put hers on with a smile.

They walked off the ramp made by bullhead's bay door into the cold air of Atlas. It wasn't cold for Leena, due to her being a sea lion Faunus, was not affected by the cold but the coat was perfectly warm. 'Wow, these coats are pretty advanced to have this warmness. Eirwen has access to some neat equipment, although, her mental state is concerning.' They were apparently on a roof that was caked with snow but it shows that the roof was massive. 'What is this place?'

'Ah, the look of awe on their faces,' Eirwen chuckled. 'Now, where is the Lieutenant that was supposed to meet us here. Don't tell me that Winter's info was wrong.' On cue, a hatch on the corner of the flat part of the roof was opened with a loud creak as a man in a white and gray uniform rush out while holding his hat, which looked like an Atlas officer hat. He looked around for a bit but then walked towards the girls. As he arrived in front of Eirwen, he took a second to catch his breath then straightened his posture and hat. He pulled a salute with surprised everyone but Eirwen. "I am very sorry for not being at your arrival, Specialist Eirwen, I hope you can forgive me." Eirwen chucked a little.

" At ease, Lieutenant..." Eirwen trailed a bit.

"Second Lieutenant James Connor, under the command of General Ironwood, Ma'am," The Lieutenant answered in a quick, concise tone. Eirwen sighed.

"I told you at ease." The Lieutenant relaxed a small amount.

"I'm sorry Ma'am, your arrival has everyone tense here. Well, mostly everyone." This piqued Eirwen's interest.

'People who just don't care? Well, I wonder who that is.' Eirwen loved the thought. "Who might that be?" questioned Eirwen, showing a slight bit of sadism in her voice.

"Well, before I tell you that, may I humbly request that we take this inside?" Eirwen sensed a bit of urgency in his voice. 'Oh right, he's cold. I almost forgot about the coat.' "Sure, why not?"

* * *

They entered through the hatch that connected to some stairs that went down into a red-lit corridor. The corridor mostly looked like a maintenance shaft. 'Hmm, this is very well kept, but that is a given for how new the build is.' They reached the door, which was an iron door with a valve.

"Please, excuse my rudeness," professed James. He turned the valve clockwise and opened the door. With a pressurized click, the door slowly opened to show a metallic walkway on the other side. "After you, Ma'am." he offered.

"Thank you," sincerely replied Eirwen. The Lieutenant and the five girls walked onto the walkway to reveal the interior of the huge hanger. The place has a full Atlas military feel due to the stark white and black contrasts. The hanger also has an alerted feeling as well, as Eirwen looked down to see the countless people moving throughout the hanger. Among those people, there were people who were playing cards, smoking, loading dust rounds into ammo crates, moving boxes into transports, and fixing up vehicles to be in tip-top shape. However, there was an object taking up a considerable amount of space in the hanger. Upon closer inspection, it looked to be a ship-like object, given its size, that was covered in construction tarps with workers working on it by repelling down from the roof of the hanger to weld in certain places of the object. "Lieutenant, if I may ask, what might the object taking up a considerable amount of space in this hanger be?"

"That is a welcoming gift the General wants you to have."

"Ah, I see. So, when will this 'gift' be presented to me?"

"Just up ahead." James opened another door that came up on the walkway and ushered everyone through. The room looked to be an observation room overlooking the mysterious object best view, but the shades were closed. James cleared his throat. "Ladies, today I am presenting to you," he tapped on the console behind him which controlled the shades. As the shades opened, James also pressed a second button to play some melodramatic music for build up.

'James, you are very funny,' Eirwen remarked.

As the shades finally rolled back, the lights slowly turned on one by one to reveal the object in the hanger.

"The AAF Smoke and Mirrors." The girls did a collective 'ooh', except for Eirwen, who was just impressed.

'Wow Ironwood, those tax dollars are being put to good use.'

The Lieutenant continued his monologue, "This ship is the pinnacle of Atlas technology, to the point of it not able to exist. This warship is the fastest in its class, the most maneuverable in its class, and has the same firepower of a normal warship with an added bonus." The ship activated the bottom plate, to reveal a double barrel cannon with various tubes of dust its firing chamber. "That is the Dust Augmented Grimm Buster or DAGB. I know the acronym is terrible, so call it the Dagger. Anyway, above the weaponry, the main feature is not only its small size, but its Prototype Mirror Cloaking Generator, or PMCG. We can call that the Mirror. What accompanies the interior is 2 Atlesian dropships, 1 special fighter variant of the Atlesian dropship that has the same technology and can be piloted remotely by the helmsman, various vehicles that can be mounted onto the dropships for ground support, and since we had to gut the AI system to make the ship smaller and more secure, we have a special platoon of Atlas Marines that have smaller scale gear of this ship's tech, including the main gun. Unfortunately, there's a problem with the marines." That was the sentence Eirwen was looking for.

"Oh?"

"Well, they haven't accepted their leader yet so they are 'uncooperative' with us."

Eirwen pulled a small sadistic smile across her face," I guess I have to show them who their boss is." James shivered a little from Eirwen response, but the girls were accustomed to it.

"Ahm, so Eirwen, since this is a top-secret project, you are in need of a crew. I have selected a few candidates for your crew."

"Oh, you do? Well, send that list to my office. I already have a helmsman." James was surprised.

"Well, you didn't submit a form for this person-."

"It doesn't matter if they are already here."

"I'm sorry?"

"Come in, Neo." The door to the observation room was opened to reveal a thin girl, that was as tall as Sigini, in a black and red uniform, just like Eirwen's uniform, with pink and brown hair. She also had a captain's hat, and her pink and black umbrella was resting on her shoulder. She held the same smirk as Eirwen would have, which seems to be saying, "Welcome back."

* * *

A/N:

Ha, ha.

Love the references.

Pencils are pointless.

Did I toss a yanger?

Anyway, having Neo as the pilot, was a very tough choice.

Having her fit into the story is very weird because I really don't know her personality.

What I know is that she is going to be the same age as Eirwen and will have the same personality as her, but slightly different.

More sadism, very much less masochism.

Also, I'm kind of introducing the military aspect of my story.

The ship is cool but I didn't describe it.

So, if you want to know, its just a smaller version of a normal Atlas warship but black and red.

The concept is based on the Normandy SR-2 from Mass Effect series.

Also, the gun is pretty sick if you ask me.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed it and will see you in te next chapter.


	10. Chapter 10: Ice Cream

A/N:

*Deep Breath* I'm back

I know it has been a long time

A very long time but I'm back on track

School is hard work

Sooooo anyway, flashback time!

* * *

Chapter 10

Ice Cream

v-v

* * *

Three Year Ago

The Slums of Atlas

* * *

In the city of Atlas, there are three classes of people. The rich, the middle, and the poor. The rich are people who are the nobles and high-class businessmen of Atlas, the middle class, are people who the small business owners and blue collar workers. And the poor are the factory workers in the production factories, making the basic needs of the people. One such girl was Neo.

Neo never knew her parents or anything about her childhood. The only things that she knows are: her name is Neo, she was born into a society of working every day to get by, and she couldn't speak. She knew words, but she couldn't talk. Maybe she was born with it; maybe her voice was damaged in the childhood that she could not remember, but one thing was for sure, she can't speak. She was also the only kid there with pink and brown hair and eyes. In the slums of Atlas, no one cared for the people there, only profit. Those types of people are the district bosses. There are five district bosses, and they all hated each other, but of course, all for profit. A certain boss that Neo was working for was called Mister Charles, or, at least, that's what Neo called him. He was directly contracted by the Atlas government to construct Atlesion dropships for the military, but there was one problem. Since all the district bosses were competing for workers, Mister Charles had the minimum amount of workers. Due to that, he treated his workers as harsh as possible to meet his quota. Among the dozens of factories Mister Charles owned, Neo was working in one of them.

"Hey, Neo," the floor boss yelled. Neo looked up at the metal scaffolding that she was standing on. "Stop daydreaming and get back to work!"

'Yes, ma'am,' Neo responded in her head but nodded in acknowledgment. She was working on the main conveyor line where she put the electronic into the various compartments in the cockpit of an Atlesion Dropship. All Neo knew was that the military used these ships to help defend the nation. Given the multiple ships that she built, Neo had developed a liking to seeing one of the dropships fly or even fly one. Sadly, those dreams where overshadowed by the yells of the floor boss that made Neo question if she was going to.

One day, one of the children that were working a few stations down got caught in the machine that they were manning. This was normal because of the dangerous working conditions, but this "mistake" was terrible. The child got utterly stuck in the machine and jammed it, which halted the line. The floor boss, not expecting this predicament, called an early lunch break, so Neo just wandered around the factory.

Neo didn't have any friends due to her being mute, so that was the only thing she liked to do. Since this was a factory for building military goods, there was a surplus of guards that patrol around. Luckily for her, the guards were too busy tending to the accident, so there was nobody in the halls. As she wandered around, she noticed that there was a big difference to what the inside of the factory looked like than to the outskirts. It was very white and pristine, rather than the gray and grimy workplace, but she was a worker with barely enough money to get by. When she spotted an open doorway, she decided to check it out. That doorway led to, what Neo believed to be, a junkyard. 'So this where all the broken planes go.' She hopped around all the parts, making sure not to step on anything sharp until she saw something odd. There was a half-broken dropship with a glowing light radiating from the cockpit. 'Huh, is something there?'

Confused, Neo rushed towards the dropship until she got to the cockpit. Inside, it was very dusty so she had to cover her mouth, but she found what the light was coming from: a slightly-cracked console in the pilot seat. With excitement, she jumped into the seat, the impact making the dust fly from the surrounding area of the seat. She used her sleeve to wipe away the dust on the screen which, to her surprise, was a touchscreen. At the top of the screen read "Atlas Military Dropship Training Program." 'Ooh, is this a flight sim? Does this mean I can fly?' Neo was giddy with excitement. For the first time in forever, Neo felt genuinely happy. Though, this feeling was short due to the sound of the lunch bell signaling to get back to work. She jumped out of the dropship and went back to the white hallway.

Every day since then, Neo went back and forth during every lunch period. Each day, learning more and more from the simulations. She repeated each level over and over again until she got it down. As the days continued, she saved enough money to buy herself a second notebook. Neo was going to use this one for a backup book to talk with, but now she has another purpose for it. Since she was friends with the shopkeeper that she buys the notepads from; the shopkeeper lets Neo stay in a closet upstairs for one Lien a day. Neo showed a note saying thanks and ran upstairs to go to bed giddy with excitement.

The next morning, she woke up as normal and went to the breakfast table where one piece of bread and a hard-boiled egg was waiting for her every day. She swiftly ate and headed out the window to the back of the room leading onto the roof, leaving a note of thanks. She had to do this because the shopkeeper told her to, so she didn't question it. When she arrived at the factory, Neo went straight to work as usual. When lunchtime hit she shuffled down to the same white hallway to the same junkyard that she enjoyed so much, however when she walked through the white hallway it was very quiet. As she walked into the dusty dropship a wave of darkness enveloped her vision.

* * *

At the writing shop around the same time:

Current Weather: heavy rain

* * *

Marilyn blew a longing sigh for another day at work. Living in Atlas was hard enough, but working in Atlas was another story. Thankfully, she has a shop in between the slums and the middle class so she can boss herself around, but sales in that area were sadly low. The reason being, selling outdated writing utensils and paper. Of all the things, she was selling paper that was twenty-three years old. However the customers she does get pay very well. With thoughts racing in her head, she didn't notice that someone at the door.

The bell of the shop door rang with a resounding chime. Marilyn was tending to a shelf when a customer walked through the door she turned to greet them. "Hello, welcome to Stravinsky's Writing Shop, how can I… help... you?", she made a sudden stop to see what looked to be a fourteen-year-old girl that came up to Marilyn's stomach. The girl was dressed in a dark black trench coat, and a black and red military officer hat with a logo that she had never seen before. The girl proceeded to take off her hat and pull the hair out from behind her coat. She had straight long crystal white hair that looked so perfect that Marilyn paused. The girl turned towards Marilyn to reveal a very pale, porcelain-like skin with grey eyes. However, when she looked into her eyes, all she saw was a mysterious pain. Shaking away the thoughts, she focused on the customer in front of her.

The girl cleared her throat, "Yes, I would like to buy your finest stationery and pens."

"Sure, right this way ma'am." Marilyn was surprised at the mannerism of her customer. She thought, 'Wow for a 14-year old, she acts pretty maturely.' They reached the section to what she was looking for, "Here are the finest I have, though these are pretty expensive since they're all hand-made."

"Money will not be a problem," the girl retorted.

"Alright, I get it. When you choose out what you want, come up to the register," Marilyn responded. She was surprised at the stalwart response to her thinking that she was pretending to be fancy. She thought, 'Hmm, I'll have to probe some more to learn anything about her.' After a few minutes, the girl walked in front of the counter which Marilyn was posted at and came to be shoulder height with the counter and placed a stationary, box and a pen. "The total will be 9800 Lien." The girl handed Marilyn a carbon black and white card. "This is…" Marilyn's brain jumped, and she stuttered for a quick second. "A-a-a Schnee Lien card?! How did you...?" The girl interrupted as if she has had to do the multiple times before. "My mentor, Jaune Arc, Captain of the Atlas Royal Guard, let me use this." Marilyn just couldn't believe this kid. Her head was spinning; 'so she has this much money available because Jaune Arc is her mentor!?' "So they let you in the military this young?"

"Yes, and I am here to warn and save you." She suddenly burst out. "Let me introduce myself, I am Specialist Eirwen Roanfaust."

There was an awkward silence between the two of them for a moment.

"Wait! Wait wait, slow down here. Are you trying to tell me I'm being targeted of some sort?" Marilyn said in a confused tone, but then suddenly realized why she was being targeted.

"By my information, you might be harboring something that has you targeted, I'm sure you know what this thing is, correct?" Marilyn knew that Eirwen was on to her and she had to lie to get out of this situation.

"If I said I did, what would you go about doing?" Suddenly, before Marilyn could even react Eirwen moved to a more relaxed posture.

"Look, I know you don't trust me, but you have to in this kind of situation. It's also your only valid option at this point in time unless you would like to die a horribly sad death," Eirwen said in a stern and commanding voice. "I know where Neo is, but she is in a bit of a pinch. I can guarantee both your and her safety if you trust me." She spoke in a calmer and more soothing tone than before.

Marilyn had to think it over for a second. She really didn't have any reason to distrust Eirwen, but it was still all very sudden.

"I guess I have no choice but to accept." A smirk appeared on Eirwen's face as Marilyn said that.

"Excellent, and right on time, as the hitman is coming within the next hour. So you have an hour to clear the entire store of anything that is important or needed."

Marilyn slowly processed that in her mind, "Wait, what!?" she said in an outburst of shock.

"Well, the hitman isn't leaving without a fight, and I don't want any damage done to your handmade goods," Eirwen said

"Well, how do I take an entire store plus a house that's upstairs in an hour?" Marilyn asked, her head still spinning.

"If I wasn't being clear, I meant the store. The upstairs part is where you will be at." Eirwen said

"What will I have for protection?"

"Leave that to me. Now hurry up, we don't have a lot of time."

"Oh, right!" Marilyn rushed around to pick up as much as she could and dumped it upstairs.

"Well, that was quick," Eirwen commented, surprised by Marilyn's efficiency.

"Well, my semblance is being precise."

"Hmm, something to consider..anyway up we go" They both headed upstairs. As they made it to the top Eirwen immediately walked to the single window in the room, shut it, and froze it. "Woah, you can freeze things?"

"Yes, that is my semblance."

"Wow, that cool."

"I guess it is." Eirwen expression changed slightly after saying that. "Well anyway, I'll be downstairs waiting for the hitman. You just stay up here till that is done."

" Alright, stay safe." Eirwen gave her a nod then started down the stairs. Before she opened the door to the shop section, however, Marilyn thought she heard Eirwen mutter something under her breath. That something was," he's weak anyway."

* * *

A/N:

End

So the next is coming very shortly because I was working on both chapters at the same time

so yeah the Neo thing

I think this might get confusing

So read the next chapter

That might explain it

If not, I'll reveal it at the end of the next chapter.

Bye for now.


	11. Chapter 11: The Showdown

A/N:

I know, I know it's been a long time

Sorry, school is hard

This time though

I doubled up on the length

Please enjoy

Also, whoever still stuck with me till all the way to now

Thank you

* * *

Chapter 11

The Showdown

v-v

* * *

Eirwen wasn't expecting much firepower from this so-called "Hitman." The people in the slums didn't care about their workers. However, this one worker had touched something they shouldn't have and that a certain district owner isn't happy about that. Therefore, they looked for anything precious to that one person and took it away using any means necessary to make them have absolute loyalty. That "something precious" was Marilyn Stravinsky, the owner of the same store that Eirwen was headed to. She wouldn't have cared less about the lives of the people down in the slums, but these two were special. Marilyn was 23 and fresh out of college. She majored in cybersecurity, but there were multiple reports of her hacking into Atlas systems which made her valuable to her team. Neo, on the other hand, was very special. Hearing about her was very surprising, thinking Neo had died with Roman Torchwick and Neopolitan at their final stand. Eirwen remembers when her mother came home really late and told about the raid.

Nevertheless, she had to convince both of them to work for her. Since they were both in trouble, it was the perfect opportunity to reel them in. Right now was the problem of this hitman trying to kill her objectives. "Why can I not just kill them and get over it?" Eirwen sighed and said under her breath. Her bloodlust was getting out of hand due to the anticipation, but she controlled it with a sadistic smile. She stopped smiling when the door opened.

The man casually entered the shop, mainly looking like he was going to buy something. "Hello! Is anyone there?" He announced this so he can smoke out anyone in the shop first. The sound bounced around the empty shop but, then was filled with the sound of loud boot footfalls.

"Huh, you're awfully dull to enter a shop that has the closed sign on," said the sound.

"Oh, I thought the store was just cleaning up in the last hours," he answered, and the footfalls got closer. It was to the point of the figure starting to appear in the dim light of the store windows. To the man, the figure looked to be a young girl in a black and red military outfit with a skirt and an officer hat with a symbol that he didn't recognize. 'Huh, why is there a girl here in a military get up?' he thought. "Hey, why are you here when the store's about to close as well?" He mockingly questioned. "Did you get lost?" He decided to frighten her away so he can finish his job.

"I was going to ask you the same question," the girl queried back. 'Hmm, this doesn't feel safe. I should be ready,' he deemed. He chose to draw his machete discreetly just in case things escalated.

"Look, I have some dealings with the shop owner, so, if you can leave and let the grown-ups do their work," he said, condescendingly.

This thing that dared to stand in front of her reeked of degenerate that made her almost want to retch but, she controlled herself at every remark. As soon as he entered the shop, he looked shady from the start. Also, the door was locked, so that was the most obvious. 'Man, this guy wants to die.' As soon as he said "grown-ups," it ticked her off so much as to make her draw her pistol and nail him but, she knew a quick death was not for him. No, no, a quick death was definitely not for him. He needed to pay. "Ah, I see, that means I have business with you."

" You're joking righ-," He was cut off with a lightning-fast knife throw that jabbed into his left arms elbow. Before he could react to the sudden outburst of pain, the girl's presence just disappeared and reappeared in front of the knife. She twisted her body and hit the knife with her shin. The blade gouged deeper, splitting the bone, muscles, and tendons of his arm. He couldn't believe the unimaginable pain and the confusion of the girl breaking through his aura. With rational thought about to leave him, he made a last-ditch effort and poured all his aura into his machete. He then proceeds to stab it into the girl's stomach which brought them both crashing into the ground. Accepting his defeat, he decides to rest as his aura should come back in about an hour or two. Thinking it over, he knew how this little girl got passed his aura. She took all her aura and transferred it into her weapons. 'Anyone who is sane would have some sort of defense, but for her, she's just straight up crazy,' the man thought. Just as he finished his thought, the unthinkable happened.

The girl got up slowly and stumbled backward a bit. Her crystal white hair was blocking her face as she was hunched over. She then straightened her back to a slow maniacal laugh. "You think that's enough to kill me?" She turned her head holding a masochistic grin towards the dumbfounded hitman lying on the ground. She took her hand shaking in excitement and firmly grasped the blade that has impaled her stomach straight through and casually ripped it out. Blood was pouring out of the wound but then suddenly stopped as a cold substance filled it. The girl then proceeded to lay next to the hitman's injured arm. She placed her head right next to his ear and whispered, "You know I have to return the favor, right?" The man's blood went cold as he heard these words. He knew that, when he entered this shop, he wasn't expecting to fight, and he knew that he was dead. He wanted to run, he tried to escape; but for some reason, he couldn't move. Something cold was seeping through his body that numbed his limbs. Even the knife in his elbow he couldn't feel, so maybe he could die peacefully as he closed his eyes

But he was wrong.

Eirwen moved on top of her victim, looking at his lifeless body. 'Poor fool, he was just unlucky enough to sate my hunger.' She took the machete in her hands and ran her tongue along its bladed edge. The blood sensation flowing through her body as it entered her mouth. "Ah, the taste of my own blood," Eirwen said, with a distressed look on her face. As she finished, the man started to rouse. "Ah, you're awake."

"Wait, wh-," the man interrupted himself with a scream of agony with a machete blade was pierced through his chest.'

"Ah! My favorite sound." She wore that same look of ecstasy as she watched the suffering of this man. "I want more, give me more!" She took the machete in her hand and removed it from the man's chest. She then continued to repeatedly stab him at random points while laughing and smiling the entire time. This lasted for a few minutes as Eirwen realized that he was clear as day dead. "Aw, man, he died."

Eirwen picked herself up and checked her wound. Since her aura was at full at the time, it was mostly healed. There were bits of ice still left but mostly gone. 'I should get that checked out with Vivian.' She proceeded to check the hitman's body for any clues as to who sent him. She looked in the inner pocket of the man's coat to find a business card. On the business card, there was a name that stood out, "Mr. Charles, eh? Time to pay a visit." She usually did these types of things. Protect some VIP, hitman goes after them, kills them, and then kill or capture who sent them. When she was the assassin, she would wipe the evidence away. Eirwen blew a sigh, "Well, I guess it's the usual, but I don't know if Marilyn would like that." She dusted herself off, "What a pain!" Eirwen looked at her gloves to see them covered in dried blood coming up to her elbow. She then looked down to see her uniform covered in splotches blood. Most of the blood was centered around her wound. "Weiss is going to kill me for this. Every time I do these missions, I always soak my uniform in blood. Stupid bloodlust!" She flicked herself in the head as a little punishment for now. "Time to set the charges."

When Eirwen finished rigging the man's body to dissolve, she picked up her hat and coat from the hanger at the front of the store. As a precaution, she tucked her hair in her coat, and took off her gloves and stuffed them in one of her various pockets. She then proceeded to walk up the ice-barricaded steps to the house that was above the shop. With one finger, Eirwen undid the ice that was blocking Marilyn from interfering. As she entered the house, she was greeted with a worried Marilyn. "All you alright? Did you get him?" Marilyn was a little antsy with her questions.

"Yeah, I got him," Eirwen answered

"Whew, that's good now we can-," Marilyn stopped herself as she looked at Eirwen's face. There were various marks of blood on her face. "Wait, what really happened down there? Why is there blood on your face? Are you hurt anywhere?"

"Oh, there is?" Eirwen pulled her arm out of her coat and checked her face for any blood. As she was doing that, she glanced over to Marilyn's reaction, which had widened.

"What happened to your arm?!"

Eirwen noticed that her arm was showing, so she turned around. "I'm fine, don't push it."

"Ok, ok, but at least tell me what happened down there."

"Well, he entered the shop, and I killed him."

"W-wait, you killed him?!"

"Well, If you didn't know, I'm an assassin as well as a bodyguard. This is normal for me because I've killed many people." Marilyn felt sick for the fact that a young girl killed so many. "Anyway, we have a problem."

Marilyn was surprised, "Wait, why?"

"If they figure out that their attempt failed they will find out ways to take you down. They would probably try to ruin your name or try some other ways."

Marilyn tried cracking a joke, "I really am that important, aren't I?"

"No, not especially. They just want to make a statement so they can scare Neo into submission." Marilyn's heart sank when she heard Neo's name. She realized that she was being used as a tool to get to Neo. "You said Neo was safe," Marilyn blurted out in emotion.

"Well, kind of. She's being held at the district commissioner's office."

"Why there?"

"You don't know where Neo works?"

"Well, I had a guess."

Eirwen blew a tired sigh, "Fine, let's go there."

"Hold up, we're just going there.?!" Marilyn knew how scary the district commissioner was so waltzing up there was not a good idea for her.

"Huh, why not?" Eirwen questioned

"That place is like a maximum security prison level of security, we can't just go there."

"Oh, you're concerned about that. Well, if that's the case, you have an assassin on your side so don't you worry." Eirwen was holding a confident pose.

"So, how?"

Eirwen took her scroll out of her coat pocket, "Given the time, we have to hurry." Eirwen ran over to the window, used one finger, and it shattered instantly.

Marilyn wanted to try her hand at another joke, "Wow, do people call you Ice Queen?"

Eirwen, before jumping, looked at Marilyn, "Not Ice Queen, they call me White Death."

Then she jumped out with Marilyn following behind.

* * *

On the Roof

Next to Charles' Emporium

Current weather: Mostly Cloudy

* * *

The cold weather nipped at Marilyn's nose as they stood watching the massive tower. Its industrial look cast a giant shadow. Neo never told her where she worked, but seeing it face to face was terrifying to her. Eirwen was crouched beside her, staring at the tower with peak intensity. "So, are we gonna bust in there or do you have a plan?" asked Marilyn. Eirwen stood up from her deep recon of the building.

"Well, the plan is for me to enter through one of those various ports," Eirwen pointed at the structure, "Using those, I'll be able to infiltrate the building without failing."

"So, me being here is useless, right?"

"Not quite. Your job is this," she dug up a scroll from one of her various coat pockets, "Wait for my signal, then press this button on the scroll."

"Huh, so no fighting for me?"

"Well, sometimes, you shouldn't ask for trouble." After they finished, one of the bottom cargo doors of the building opened to reveal a truck with the company logo plastered on its sides as it exited the building. Eirwen took note of this and advanced with her descent down the roof. The building was around 3 stories tall or so, using the various fire escapes to control her fall. As she landed on the ground, she used her ice to glide straight under the closing door.

Marilyn was wondering what Neo did to get into this mess. At least someone is looking out for her. She looked back at the scene where she saw Eirwen's bloody hands. Marilyn didn't even know what Eirwen's past was. So why was she trusting her like this? 'Was it because she went out of her way to protect me, or was she just doing her job?' 'What's going to happen after she rescues Neo?' These thoughts were swarming in Marilyn's head but were interrupted by the sudden appearance of rain. 'Oh, I have to find some cover.' She saw a rooftop shade cover on the building next to her and decided to make a jump for it. With a running start, she leaped over and landed right under the shade. Then, she proceeded to sit down under the shade and just think.

* * *

In a cell

In Charles' Emporium

Current weather: Unknown

* * *

As soon as Neo slowly regained her sight, she realized that she had no idea where she was or how she got there. When she tried moving, she noticed that her hands and legs were bound by chains, hanging off the ground by a little bit, and the room was pitch dark. The chains clanged and clashed as Neo tried getting out but with limited results. She started to wonder who brought her here when the echoing sounds of a door opening and closing, followed by footsteps. The footsteps filled the room as it crept closer to Neo. Then, she was blinded by a flash of light. When she opened her eyes, Neo felt a hand held her chin and felt a face in front of her. "Well, well, well. Look who decided to wake." The male voiced figure pulled his hand away. "So, Neo, I don't suppose you know who I am. My name is Mr. Charles, the district commissioner of this district, but you can call me William." Neo remembered that name and that was her boss. "Ah, the silent type. Let us perform an experiment." He unsheathed his whip which had a black and gold ornate handle, and refined steel bladed rope-like design, "Let us see if the little silent girl can scream."

The first blow came fast as it ripped across Neo raggy clothes, forming a deep red gash on Neo's stomach. She screamed a blood-curdling scream, as the pain was the most unbearable thing she had ever felt. Every blow afterward felt the same, the whip landing on her arm or her leg. Neo, having never been through this much agony before, that all the pain just started to become numb. She stopped screaming. Being forced to work every day for very little money to just barely get by, only to be treated like a slave. She no longer cared about the situation. She just wanted it to stop. About 30 minutes in, William stopped, "Hmm, no more screams?" He walked around her and looked at her cut-filled body. Her hair was covered by her face, which also had its fair share of cuts as well. His lips curled into a wicked smile, "Well, you don't need this then." William ripped off the rest of Neo's clothing, leaving her injuries exposed. "Oh, one last thing. That 'friend' of yours? She's dead now."

That was the last nail in Neo's coffin of despair.

The door to the cell burst open in an explosion of ice and Eirwen casually walked in. To her surprise, she spotted William and Neo, with Neo looking thoroughly broken and William with a bewildered expression on his face to the sudden intrusion. "Aww, was I a little late?"

"W-w-who are you?" demanded Mr. Charles, still shocked.

"There's no need for you to know that." She answered coldly.

William burst into laughter, "Then why are you even here, little girl? Shouldn't you be with your mommy right now?

"All right, you asked for it," Eirwen said after a sigh. She drew her knife from its holster.

"Young lady, I don't think you should be playing with knives-," he was cut off by the sound of ice forming around metal. Williams regretted everything he said.

"Wait, aren't you White Death, the one who controls ice?" There was a hint of disbelief in his words.

"Oh ho, I'm famous?" she stared and grinned at Mr. Charles. A wave of fear overcast his mind, 'What am I going to do against the most deadly assassin in all of Atlas. I have no choice but to fight back, right? I have a business to protect!' He recovered, his previous expression of despair vanishing as he prepared for the fight. "So, are we ready to begin your end?"

"I'm going to make sure that doesn't happen," William responded sternly. His reply was met with a grin as well as Eirwen lunging forwards with an ice cavalry sword.

'Ah, this pitiful man! He thinks he can beat me, much less live after what his crimes are is absurd! I shall perform the justice that he deserves!' Eirwen lunged forward to give him less distance while he wasn't paying attention. His main weapon was currently a black bladed metal whip so giving him distance is bad. Luckily for him, he recoiled his whip and used his aura to block the strike. The attack and the block bounced off of each other, knocking both Eirwen and William back. The attack, itself, caused a smoke-like screen, blocking their visual contact with each other 'Hmm, not bad, I remember reading his file. When he was younger, I think he was the runner up in the Vityal festival.' Eirwen switched her ice cavalry blade to a flintlock pistol and blindly launched ice bolts to make Williams focus on defense instead of offense. She needed a way to breach his range. Suddenly, it hit her.

He had to come up with a way to hit her without him getting hit before the smoke ran out. Then, an idea came to him. The room he was standing was an old training room that had Pop-Up-Cover. He searched his pockets in his suit for the controls as Eirwen was giving suppressing fire with ice bolts raining down on his position. He had an 'Ah ha!' moment when he found the remote, but he felt a chill down his spine. He slowly looked to his right to see a grinning maniac with an old icy pistol pointed right at his forehead. "Gotcha." He dodged in time with his reflex semblance and activated the system. By his luck, the pylons raised in front of him, so he took the chance to plan. The arena was a small 20 by 20 square with a center square that held their previous location before the fight. The main thing was is that he still needed a way to hit her.

'Ugh, what a drag. He made cover so he could hide,' Eirwen thought. She gets so annoyed at prey that hides. The plan was to incapacitate him, but she went a little overboard with the close-up, even though she really enjoyed it. Now, William set up a training arena, and Eirwen had to deal with it. Fortunately, she mastered these arenas so many times that she knew the spots. She changed her pistol into a musket and took up a position in cover. Being patient in the field is the best type of discipline of a soldier. She was taught that by her mentor Jaune. Eirwen owed everything to him for saving her from despair and making her this powerful. At the first sign of movement, she regained her razor-sharp focus.

'Ok, I'm good. Now that I have cover, I can hit her without getting hit myself.' He was hiding behind one of the many pylons that were in the room. The room was quite large for its size, so maneuverability wasn't an issue. All that he had to do now was find her. William decided to make a move to the center of the field so he could get a better bearing on where he is. As soon as he went to leave cover, however, a whole shard of ice came flying past his face that nearly clipped his hair and landed a few feet away from him that made him retreat back into cover, 'Ok, so that kid knows I'm here, but I don't know where she is.' Willam was wondering about this for a while. Why was she trying to kill him? There was no bounty on him. He made sure to pay off his debts, and he completes his daily quotas, but she is still trying to kill him. Then he realized what it was. Eirwen wanted the girl. 'Hmm, how do I take advantage of this?' Suddenly, an idea started forming in his head.

Eirwen changed positions immediately after the first shot, as does any sniper. The pylons were the hard part of sniping because they were at the same height and fighting around the same cover. As she got into her next spot, she heard the crackling of an intercom. "Young lady, please head to the center of the arena. There is a gift there for you." Guessing what that gift was, she dissolved her rifle and walked towards the center of the arena. As Eirwen arrived, she was greeted with Neo, still hanging from her chains, and a grinning William. "So, the assassin shows herself."

"Well, here I am."

"Ok, so why are you trying to kill me?"

"Killing you would solve everyone's problems. However, killing you will get me Neo."

"So, it is about the girl."

"Not entirely, but yes."

"Hmm, so I can't get out of this?"

"I'm afraid so."

"Then, let's dance," said William as he instantly drew his whip to strike, but Eirwen was planned for that response and swiftly dodged the blow. She knew this guy was runner up in that tournament, but she felt that these strikes were slow. Her response was the launch a volley of ice rounds while running so she can keep some distance from the whip. William recoiled his whip and blocked the volley. He then decided to change his tactic by rushing forwards to shorten the distance between them, but it looked as though Eirwen was prepared for that action too ao she charged at him as well. Seeing that she was going to have the advantage in close combat, William stopped himself and launched his whip instead. Eirwen had other ideas. 'Perfect,' Eirwen mused as she dodged the whip and lanced an ice column on the extended whip, locking it in place. She then skated herself towards the helpless whip user and was right up in his face. To matters worse for him, she pointed her gun at his right wrist holding the whip and pulled the trigger,

The shard of ice pierced through the skin, the veins, the bone, and back out the other end with extreme precision. William jolted back from the hole that completely cut off all motor function of that hand. The pain had not set in yet due to the adrenaline pumping through his vessels, so he took this chance to stand his ground and deliver a retaliatory left hook the girl's gut. The blow connected and sent her back about a foot or two but she didn't flinch once that entire time, As she recovered, William's eyes connected with Eirwen's and what he saw, terrified him. She had a look of pure joy with grin stricken across her face. "How are you smiling in a fight, of all places?" asked William, in between breaths.

"Oh, the thrill of certain death overflows me with joy to the point that I can not just help myself to smile," Eirwen responded, with a distressed face holding two fingers in her mouth.

"You're sick. Deranged, even." After regaining his composure, he took out his trusty knife and rushed forward with everything he had, aura blocking out the pain. Eirwen directly just causally straightened her back and waited. This action did not make William falter as he began to release a small war cry and pressed his action. The attack landed, but he was out of luck. Eirwen blocked the hit with her whole left hand, going straight through. Given that Eirwen's counter worked, she thrust her pistol exactly into his abdomen then ripping her hand out of William's knife to perform an aura-infused kick off her weapon. She then evoked four ice javelins to pierce his four limbs to the ground. With William in a debilitated state and ice forming her wounds to stabilize them, Eirwen went to Neo's scarred body.

After reaching Neo's chain prison, Eirwen saw that she was already unconscious, therefore removing the chains would be a simple task. With four shots of her pistol, first the leg chains, then the arm chains, Neo was free and fell into Eirwen's arms. Seeing her wounds have been slightly closed up, Eirwen searched for the small first-aid kit that she had, although she had never used it, having no need for it. Finding it in relatively good condition, she applied what she knew from her mentor to Neo, as well as her injuries.

After a few minutes, Neo started to rouse. "Ah, you're awake. Wow, you heal fast." Neo looked around to where she was. She was in Mister Charles office, and she was in chains. "Oh yeah, I forgot. You can't speak." She looked towards the sound of the female voice to see a girl that looked to be a little older than her in a black trench coat that was ripped in some places and an officer hat that was same. Her face was of a pale white color, her eyes were a gray-like color, and her hair was a long, crystal-white color. However, there were splotches of blood accompanying the girl's clothes as well. She had a battle angel look to her which held Neo in awe. While she was awestruck, the girl pulled out a paper and pencil from her coat and placed it in front of her. "What is your name?" Neo went straight to writing, "My name is Neo."

"Ok, do you remember your family?"

"No. Who are you?"

"My name is Eirwen Roanfaust, and I am here to save you."

"Why? No one really cares about me anyway." Eirwen moved to Neo's ears and whispered, "Two people need you. That is Marilyn and me." Neo looked surprised by the response.

"But, he said that she was dead."

"He only thought so." Neo seemed relieved.

"Thank you."

"No problem, just doing my job." Just then, something sinister apparently came upon Eirwen. "Can you stand?" Neo tried to stand and, to her surprise, stood up perfectly fine. "Good, follow me." They walked for a bit, with Neo observing the carnage of ice bolts and whip cuts along the metal field. When they stopped, Neo saw the man that caused her all the pain. The district commissioner was struggling to move as he was impaled by several ice rods in each of his limbs. Eirwen stepped back and whispered in Neo's ear, "Would you like revenge? The pain and suffering he caused you? All the lies he told you? Do you want to end it all?" Eirwen handed one of her knives to Neo. "If so, then take it in your hands."

Almost unconsciously, she gripped the knife hard as her hands were slightly shaking. She slowly moved towards the struggling William. "W-w-wait, think about what you are doing Neo!" his voice was in a panic, "Listen, I gave you life in a place that doesn't give people one. You can't just do this to me!"

Neo didn't care what he was saying. She mouthed the words "Shut up" as she plunged the knife into his chest. He was in anguish as the knife went in and out of his body, the blood spattering out to stain Neo's skin. As Neo stabbed her last, she ripped out the knife of the lifeless body and looked at the blood that dripped off of it. Eirwen held Neo's shoulders and whispered in her ears once more, "Do you now know how it feels to take a life? Make sure you remember that feeling, relish it, make it a sensation of great pleasure." Neo felt a great shiver down her spine that made her feel strange. 'Maybe killing is a way to solve problems,' Neo considered and finally, for the first time of her life, she made a grin of delight. As if her problems disappeared in the bliss of the moment. While Neo was in the moment, Eirwen had given Marylin the signal. "Neo, we're leaving. Here, take this," she tossed her trench coat to Neo, "You would probably need that to go outside." Neo ran up to Eirwen's side as they left the arena and entered the side hallway. She observed Eirwen condition and hastily wrote something down to ask, "Are you alright?" Eirwen acknowledged what Neo had asked about and laid a hand on her head.

"I'm fine, Neo. this won't kill me."

"Oh, ok. If you say so."

"Anyway Neo, let's get out of here."

"Right."

* * *

Location: On the Rooftop

Nearby: Charles Emporium

Weather: Rain

* * *

Marilyn was awoken by the sound of buzzing. She clumsily fell asleep to the sound of rain and forgot of the signal. She slapped both of her cheeks to fully awake herself and checked the scroll. The scroll read, "Mission complete, call extraction." 'Oh, they're done. So, she told me to hit this button here.' Marilyn moved to and pressed the button that Eirwen told her to push before she left. After, the scroll read, "Extraction request received. ETA: 10 minutes."

"Huh, that's pretty fast." The scroll buzzed again.

"New ETA: arriving now."

"Wait, what!?" Marilyn looked straight up to see a black flash pierce the clouded skies and come right towards her. Marilyn thought that whoever was flying that thing was insane. Noticing that it was coming at her, she closed her eyes and braced herself. She opened to the black flash being the ship that was called. The back cargo door opened to a woman with dark black short hair, blue eyes, and was dressed in a loose white coat and black military blouse jumped onto the roof that Marilyn was on.

"Hallo, are you Marilyn?" she had a hard Atlasian accent and, upon closer inspection, had a big rack.

"Oh yeah, um, yes I'm... Marilyn." She was still in shock from almost dying and the woman's rack.

"Good, where is Eirwen?"

Marilyn looked at the entrance, "well, they're no- no wait, there they are." Two figures popped out of the dark doorway to the shadowy organization. One is a girl in a blood-splotched military uniform and a small girl with a black coat around her.

" Eirwen!" The heavy accented lady ran off the railing.

"Wait, there's a-," as Marilyn ran up to the railing to see that same lady parkour all the way down, "-drop."

After the lady dropped, she ran straight towards Eirwen, and when Marilyn looked at Eirwen, a look of fear was on her face as she stopped and started to walk back. Unfortunately, she no time as the lady accelerated and impacted her, dropping her to the ground. "Oh Eirwen, I was so worried. When you went on that mission on your own, I was waiting for the chance to get you back as soon as possible. "The lady was in tears between her words as Eirwen was in disgust.

"Ow, I'm fine, now get off of me." The lady acknowledged and got right back up. Eirwen then proceeded to stand up also and dust herself off. "Ah, Vivian, over worried as always, but I was kind of lying about being fine," She pointed at the stab wound that was crystallized with red ice, "The Hitman got lucky and stabbed right through."

"Ok, this is serious enough that you shouldn't be fighting anymore."

"Well, I kind of fought one of the runner ups in the Vityal Tournament."

"You did what?!"

"Yeah, so the amount of aura I used up for my shots should make me not able to stand right now." As the words came out of her mouth, she was brought to a knee. "Well, there's the aura kicking in."

Vivian sprung right into action and supported Eirwen's shoulder. "Geez, just because you have that ability, doesn't mean you're invincible." She clicked on her earpiece and talked to the pilot to pick them up below.

Eirwen looked up to see a concerned Marilyn, "Hey, Marylin, why don't you come down here too!"

"But, it's too high up!"

Eirwen rolled her eyes and sighed, "Vivian, I need some of your blood."

Vivian was surprised, "W-w-what why?"

"So, I can get her down."

"Oh, here," She offered her arm.

"Thanks," Eirwen helped herself to Vivian's arm. The blood flowed in her mouth and down her throat, the hot, intense flavor filled her senses but kept it as hidden as possible. When she finished, she wiped her mouth of excess blood, and her aura turned into a deep red. Instantly, a red ice staircase formed all the way up to the roof. "Watch your step," Eirwen said, in a dead tone. As Marilyn reached the bottom of the surprising safe stairs, Eirwen was boarding the landed ship, and Vivian was walking up to her.

"Sorry if that gave you a wrong impression of her. When she takes blood, she enters a different mind state.

"Blood?"

"Well, that's how she does it. I have no idea how, but what I do know is that ice is constantly in her blood. You should probably ask her, if she is comfortable, of course."

"Alright I will, but what's your name again?"

"Ah, I forgot. My name is Vivian Sankt, and I am a medic in service to Eirwen," She said with a bow.

"Pleasure to meet you. My name is Marilyn Stravinsky." She held out a hand. In turn, Vivian accepted it with a firm shake.

"Can we please board the ship?" asked Eirwen, while she was sitting in one of the ship's seats, holding her head in annoyance. Everyone got the message, the group piled in. Neo sat next to Marilyn and Vivian next to Eirwen as they lifted off.

* * *

A/N:

Ha, ha, cliffhanger.

no not really

it just ends there

next chapter going back to the present so yay

this chapter ends that off

hope my back story for "Neo's child" works

see you next chapter

ciao


	12. Chapter 12: The Second Step is the Easie

A/N:

I have no idea why the chapter title in the chapter select has a character limit.

I think chapters are going to be longer

Like 'More Bang for your Buck'

Except your not paying

Anyway enjoy

* * *

Chapter 12

The Second Step is the Easiest

v-v

* * *

Time: Present day

Weather: Snow

Location: Unknown Hanger by Atlas Academy

* * *

"Who's that?" asked Ivory, curious to the new figure that entered the room.

"Well, her name is Neo Roanfaust, my adopted little sister."

"What?!" There was a collective surprise among the people in the room.

"You have a sister! How did I not know about this?" questioned Signi.

"Well, she was a very well hidden secret due to the nature of her past but she had been my sister for the past 3 years. However, there should be one thing to note. Neo cannot speak."

"How can she not speak?" questioned Leena.

"She was born with a disease that made her vocal cords not form properly. That in mind, I had come up with a solution." Neo joined Eirwen in the center of the observation room, overlooking everyone surrounding it. She pulled out her scroll then placed it on the ground in front of them. A holo screen displayed itself, facing towards the group. Also, a keyboard appeared in front of Neo. "Hello there," typed Neo.

"Wow, she can talk like this," exclaimed Ivory. Signi looked impressed but also looked like she already knew.

"So, that holographic display you told me to build, Eirwen, was for her?"

"Yes, of course."

"You could have told me that it was for her, I could have made something different.

Neo typed again, "I'm sorry that big sis didn't inform you, however, I was the one that told her to leave it like that."

"Hmm, that's fine, just wanted a little heads up, you know?"

Eirwen looked at her watch and perceived that she had to wrap it up. She clapped her hands together, "Alright everyone, so here's the deal. Neo and I have some business to attend to now. Signi, can you take the girls to their rooms?"

"Again?"

"Yes, because you know where the rooms are."

"Fine."

Ebon finally spoke up, "Eirwen, what are we really doing here?"

Eirwen held an innocent face, "Oh, we are just here to go to school and fight monsters." Something in that sentence bothered her, but kept it to herself for now. "Does anyone else have any questions?"

"Ooh, me, me!" Ivory raised her hand high.

"Yes, Ivory?"

"When do we start going to school?"

"Oh, in about an hour or two."

"Sweet!"

"Alright, if everyone has a job, get to it." Everyone started to clear the room except Eirwen, Neo, and Lieutenant James.

"Ma'am, may I take my leave?"

"Not quite, James."

"Ma'am?"

"You mentioned the Marines not cooperating."

"Yes, the Marines think that you are not a competent commanding officer."

"Well then, I will go introduce myself," Eirwen said, with a grin.

"Ok Ma'am, right this way."

The way to the barracks was very streamlined. From the arrows on the ground to the simple stairways in between. The only problem was that it was really dark. 'Huh, running on low power is standard for secret operations but it does get annoying.' The only real lights were the dim red lights in the hallways and Neo's dim light of her game. 'I thought was a good idea to make a game for Neo to practice flying all the time but it is just a game so time will tell if she is ready.'

When they arrived, they could overhear the ruckus going on inside. "You may leave me," commanded Eirwen. Acknowledging her command, James left swiftly to attend to his other duties. Eirwen stretched and cracked her knuckles, "Well, Neo, it's about to get rough so stay on your toes." Neo gave an affirmative nod after putting away her game and then entered the room. Inside the barracks of the commanding platoon, the platoon giving out her orders. What she saw was a group of undisciplined children with apparently licenses to hold rifles. The soldiers they saw, was a ring of soldiers cheering on what looked to be a fight. "Get her, get her," yelled one soldier. " You show that man up," yelled another, that seemed to have a more feminine voice. As Eirwen got closer, she spotted who was fighting through a hole in the crowd. It was Sergeant Clovis Alberg being pinned down by First Lieutenant Leona Berke.

"You had enough, huh?" spat Leona.

"Fine, fine, I give up," shouted Clovis.

They both got up, Leona being the victor and Clovis catching his breath. 'Wow, these people do this for fun. Let me have a taste,' Eirwen thought. She took the black coat she had on earlier and handed it to Neo. She turned to face Neo, "Listen Neo, I'm going to give some discipline to these people, so you just watch." Neo nodded her head in acknowledgment, "Good." A slow clap was heard from the corner of the room and everyone diverted their attention to it. Eirwen came out of that corner with a small grin on her face, "Well done, well done! This is exactly how a professional military should work." Everyone in the room heard her sarcasm and started to growl at her but Leona raised a hand and it stopped immediately.

"What is a school girl doing in a restricted area?" Leona said in a commanding tone.

Eirwen raised a small laugh, "Oh, a 'school girl'? Is that how you should be talking to your commander?"

" Ha! You, our commander? Are you trying to get yourself out of this by bluffing?"

"Well, we can test that." Eirwen walked forward towards a barrel that was between them.

"Does a simple arm wrestling match settle it?"

Leona huffed out a laugh, "Really, you want to give yourself a disadvantage?"

"Sometimes, underestimating your opponent could be fatal."

"Hmm, I like how you think." They placed their elbows on the table and locked their hands together. "Hey, Clo, ref our game." That same lieutenant on the ground came right back up and placed his hand above the two. 'Ah, good control over her troops,' Eirwen thought.

"Ok, the match starts in three, two, one, go!" Leona started off by putting all her strength in one push to end it but something else happened. She couldn't move an inch. Leona tried 2 more times but the other girl's arm didn't budge.

"Wow, what a surprise. Didn't know you had muscle on you. Are you using that fancy aura that little school girls like you can protect themselves with?" Leona retorted.

"I have to admit, that was a good one, but sorry to crush your hopes. I am currently not using an aura."

"Prove it."

"Very well." Eirwen took her free hand an unsheathed one of her knives on her thigh and then proceeded to cut a straight line across her left cheek. As soon as the knife left her face, blood started to slowly drip out. There were collective oohs and ahhs within the crowd around them. "Am I done proving myself?" Eirwen challenged with a smirk.

Leona started getting angry with this cocky little girl, "The only thing that you need to prove is who is stronger."

"Oh, if that is the case." As if she was holding back, a sudden force opposed Leona's hand and then overwhelmed it to immediately put the back of her hand on the wooden surface of the barrel in an instant. There was just silence as the room took in the shock, especially Leona who, never in her life, lost an arm wrestling match. As Eirwen left her shocked hands, Leona was left with so many questions about who this girl is or was. Eirwen walked over to the door where Neo greeted her and handed her her coat. She put on the coat and looked back with a wide grin at the still shocked group of soldiers, "Ladies and gentlemen, I hope you observe unwavering fealty to your commander. If you want a name, I will give you this. White Death." Leona questions were answered right then and there. Eirwen shortly left the barracks right after. Lt. Clovis was the first to speak, "So, that was something. Well, commander, it's not every day you meet a living legend."

Leona started to laugh," I guess so, I just got beat by the assassin that got over 100 kills in a year. My god damn luck!" Leona then walked over to one of the metal tables in the room and stood up on it. "Attention men, we got a new commander and she tough as nails so, let's fight harder and harder so we can make her proud. Oorah!"

"Oorah!" everyone repeated.

"Lt. Clo."

"Ma'am."

"Get our next deployment order."

"Yes, Ma'am!" Lt. Clovis left them in a good mood.

"Everyone else, get set for new orders."

"Yes, Ma'am," everyone shouted in unison.

"From now on, it's about to be a wild ride," Leona mused to herself.

Eirwen could hear the shouts from the railing overlooking the hanger bay. "What a bunch of loudmouths. Don't you agree, Neo?"

Neo pulled out her tablet and started typing, "I guess so."

"Well, at least they can now fire their weapons properly. Maybe even hit a target?"

"Ha. Ha, ha."

"That was probably a bad joke but in all seriousness, I have to go."

"Why?"

"Because I have to exercise teamwork with my new teammates."

"Oh, I forgot. Come back soon, ok?"

Eirwen rubbed the top of Neo's head, "I will before you know it. Now, back to your room."

"Ok." Neo put away her tablet and ran down the walkway. After she disappeared from sight, Eirwen quickly put her finger to the cut and in her mouth. The sensation was small but was enough for Eirwen to feel something. The same cut got healed spontaneously as she consumed the blood.

"Now back to work."

* * *

Location: Room Sector #142

* * *

As soon as Ebon tried to lie down on the bed, a speaker came on, "Could the 3 girls that were escorted please go to monorail station six and bring any belongings with you." 'And I was just trying to sleep.' Ebon lazily jumped from her bed and grabbed her travel bag and put on her coat. She still felt a little unsettled by the fact that they were made out of Beowulf fur but ignored it as she exited the door. As Ebon entered the hallway, she looked both ways to see Leena and Ivory, wearing the same coats and carried bags.

"I wonder what this about," questioned Leena

"I think it has something to do with the school," Ivory interjected.

"Maybe so, but we have to get there to find out," Ebon suggested. The three girls went together to the nearest elevator. Signi told them that the elevator was designed for direct access to the monorail system so the B letters mean what number the monorail was. Using that information, they entered and pressed the B6 button. The elevator closed with a hard crunch and started moving. Ebon tried thing of many reasons why Eirwen recruited them but one thing for sure is that she is trying to do the right thing. Eirwen's methods are questionable, but in her eyes, they get results. After Ebon finished her thought, the door to the elevator opened and they were greeted by the familiar face of Eirwen.

"Good morning once again ladies, today we are embarking on an adventure!" Eirwen was trying to sound cheerful but it was straining her. Her cheerful greeting left only Ivory applauding and Leena smiling. Ebon was still holding a look of disinterest. "Ok, so that approach failed. Well then, I think you guys are thinking about why are we down here by a monorail. As you may have guessed, we are finally going to school."

"Knew it," Ebon stated, forthrightly.

"Why are we going to school again?" asked Leena, curious.

"We're going to school so we can maintain cover and, I guess, I wanted to go to high school with friends." Eirwen buried her head into her coat after saying the second reason.

'Oh, she has humanity,' Ebon thought.

"Well if that's the case, I would love to be your friend, Eirwen," Leena responded, jovially.

"Really?"

"Yes, really."

"Yay, group hug!" Ivory blurted out of nowhere. She rushed and grabbed up everyone, even with Ebon's protesting. After the hug, Eirwen regained her composure.

"Anyway, initiation is starting in an hour, so let's get on board." They boarded without issue and the door closed. Though it was sudden, the monorail started moving.

Ebon spoke up, "Wait, isn't initiation where they make random teammates?"

" Yes, that is true, but I have a workaround. Everyone, hand me your scrolls."

Everyone in the monorail did as they were told and gave Eirwen their scrolls. She placed the scrolls together and laid her own scroll on top. There was a slight computer sound, then a click for completion. Eirwen handed back the scrolls and Ebon checked what she did. There was a new app called "Team Locator".

"What is this supposed to do?" Leena asked.

"It will secure our team choice."

"So, we're cheating, right?" Ebon stated.

"In a way, yes, but don't worry, General Ironwood already knows."

"Wait, why does he know?"

"So, his little special forces team maintains their cover."

"Special forces?"

"Oh, yeah, almost forgot," Eirwen turn to face everyone with a smiling face," From now on, we are known as team ELIE, the first huntress-based Atlas special forces unit."

There was a collective "Huh?" all around Eirwen.

"So, we're going from just meeting you to full-fledged special forces?" blurted Ebon.

"Well… yeah," Eirwen responded with a smile that felt uncomfortable to Ebon.

"So, if we are these 'special forces' you speak of, who will be our foe?" Leena inquired.

"Well, you know, the White Fang rings a bell," Eirwen clarified. Instead of surprise, the rail cabin was filled with silence. Eirwen tried breaking the silence, "But, that isn't the only enemy we will face."

"Yeah, yeah, we get it. It is just that we had 'experiences' with the White Fang." Ebon answered and also looked to her sister who was longing looking out the rail window.

"You can say that we all lost something to the White Fang," Leena deadpanned.

"Well, it's not like that I knew that already," Eirwen muttered. Ebon was observing that the conversation took a dark turn, she decided to include Ivory because she hadn't said much the entire ride.

"Ivory, did you know about this?"

She turned towards the group, "Yes, of course, Eirwen told me all the details a month ago."

"Oh, I see." Ebon was mostly shocked that her sister knew about this but the tone she used was very unlike her sister's. It was very dead. Before they knew it, they were stopped at the exit station.

"Ah, we are here," Eirwen looked at her scroll, "and not a moment too soon, we have orientation in 30 minutes."

"30 minutes," Ebon and Leena said in unison.

"Yes, of course, let's get right to it." Leena hastily grabbed her stuff, same as Ebon and rushed out the door to the stairs. Ivory was doing the same thing but was with less haste. Eirwen walked up behind Ivory and put her hand next to her ear. She proceeded to snap and Ivory mind went blank. Eirwen then whispered in her ear, "Ivory, wake up, time to be normal." Ivory suddenly started falling as Eirwen caught her in her arms. Her eyes slowly opened.

"Where am I?"

"Ivory dear, you need to catch up with our teammates and take your stuff as well."

"Oh, really? Well, I better get going then. How much time do I have left?"

"25 minutes."

"25 minutes!" Ivory jumped right back up, grabbed her bag, and ran up the side stair, using her semblance lightly. In turn, Eirwen grabbed her belongings and headed to the same stairs.

'My, my, Ivory will be a very good pawn,' Eirwen mused to herself and started climbing.

* * *

The Grand Hall

* * *

Ebon notice that Eirwen arrived by the sudden presence behind her. On instinct, she jumped out of the way and grasped for her weapon which was not there. "Wow, habits never die hard," teased Eirwen.

"Well, excuse me for being on guard all the time. You never know what can kill you out there," Ebon answered rhetorically

"Oh, I know," Eirwen uttered to herself, knowing all too well that feeling. "Anyway, shouldn't we be heading to the grand hall?"

"Yes, of course! Almost forgot," Leena indicated. As they started walking, Ebon pulled back Ivory to the back of the group.

"Hey, little sis, you ok?"

"Yeah, yeah, everything is fine. Why do you ask?"

"Well, it felt like you weren't yourself for a bit."

"Hmm, maybe I wasn't...Ah, nevermind! Let's catch up."

"Ivory, wait-," Ebon called out but to no avail. She was already ahead. _Something is up, Ivory never acts this weird. Could Eirwen have done something to her? I have to investigate further to get a better idea._ Ebon's rambling where interrupted when she saw Leena calling out for her. Ebon didn't realize that she was so far away from the group and sprinted to match their pace.

The grand hall was as it was called, grand. The floor, the ceiling, the walls, everything was very modern and ornate at the same time, a very stark contrast to the old, Victorian structure style of the exterior. The interior of the room was very symmetrical with chairs lined up on each side of the room flawlessly, making a center walkway to the podium at the front. Above the chair and in the center of the hall, was a very elegant chandelier with the various dust crystals adorning it. All, of course, mined by the Schnee Dust Company. Since they were the latest, all the student were in their chairs, mostly chatting with each other about teams and such. Ebon scanned the crowd to see what type of people would be attending the school they were going to spend their lives in. As expected, she saw mostly rich kids trying to become hunters and huntresses for the fun of it but then she spotted some faunus. It was a small group, but it looked to be enough to form 2 or 3 teams. _That is a relief that there is a good amount of faunus here._ Ebon looked around some more were she was tapped on the shoulder by Leena.

"Hey, did you see the faunus?" whispered Leena.

"Yeah," whispered back Ebon.

"That's pretty cool that we aren't the only people in this school that are Faunus."

Eirwen joined their conversation when she heard them talking, "Hey you two, we have to be seated."

"Right," They responded in unison. As they picked their seats, a woman walked up to the podium.

"Good morning, students, the staff here at Atlas Academy welcome to this school so you can become hunters and huntresses to battle against the force of Grimm. Albeit, it sounds very cheesy, but every single one of you here in the hall has the potential to become the greatest warriors on Remnant. Now, a word from our headmaster." She stepped offstage and a man, Ebon presumed to be General Ironwood, stepped to the podium.

"Students, I personally thank you for coming to this school as well as welcome you. In a time where peace is being threatened by individuals who only wish for chaos, we need people like you to stand up for weak and protect the kingdoms from the forces of Grimm. Now to get you there, you need to take 4 years of an Academy to get your license and this is the place to do it. So, let us jump right in. As tradition in any of the four academies, there is a rigorous entrance exam then there is an initiation. Here at Atlas, we combined our military and the school together so that affected the initiation as well. We train our soldiers with the type of training to survive the harshest conditions to even fight off Grimm themselves if it comes to it. So if the same training is bestowed upon you, you shall be able to fight the Grimm off anywhere. Now, who's ready to fight some Grimm!" The crowd responded with the same enthusiasm. "That's what I like to hear. Now, my aide will instruct you to your starting point as well as brief you on what the Initiation is."

* * *

Eirwen and Ivory both caught up to the group, and Eirwen spotted Ebon and Leena towards the back.

"Ebon," Ivory called out. Ebon turned her head to see the elegantly strolling Eirwen and the fatigued Ivory, still running. As Ivory stopped in front of her, she took a minute to catch her breath but long enough for Eirwen to reach her side. "Ha, beat you."

"Well, I let you," Eirwen remarked.

"Sure you did."

"Well, I know I did because I didn't want to beat you so easily."

"Really, well I-."

"Will you two knock it off?" They were surprised by Ebon's voice.

"Sorry," they both responded.

"Now, since you are here, Eirwen, I have a question to ask."

"And what will that be?"

"It is about the-."

"Plan?" Ebon was taken aback by her answer speed.

Leena chimed in, "Yeah, while you two were having a race, we were talking about what the initiation was." Ebon was very suspicious of Eirwen's scheming mainly to the fact of Ivory's tone change but something seemed off.

"Well, that will be explained now," Eirwen answered while pointing behind them to a large round platform with Winter on top, looking at the students.

"Listen up! I'm going to tell you once so you better hear this or you are going to die."

Winter had a very serious tone, a tone that Eirwen very much enjoyed while on missions with her. "We are going up this elevator to the AAF Spear of Mantle. From there you will be only equipped with your weapon, the clothes on your back, and one piece of a flare. You will then be deployed to the surface to a random location below using the new drop pod system that the ship has equipped. Once you reach the ground, you will need to locate 3 other people and place the pieces together to form one flare to shoot into the sky. After the flare is shot, a care package will be dropped and you will follow the instructions inside," Winter took a breath, "Any questions?"

One hand was raised in the crowd, "Yes, miss…"

"Fuchs, ma'am." Ebon looked to see a short dark-skinned girl that looked to be a fox Faunus. "Are these drop pods tested?"

"Will it make you feel better if I told you?"

"I-I guess."

Winter cracked a smile, "That's for you to find out." The comment did not help else the girl fears but worsen them. "Now, anyone else?" The silence crept over the crowd at the intimidation of the task in front of them.

"Hmph, this is not difficult, it is just a test. Just pass it and move on." Everyone looked towards the sound to see a rich looking boy with similar boys around him.

"And you are?"

"Schnitzel Müller of Müller Inc., the greatest weapon maker in Atlas."

"And a name makes you think it is easy, so much so for everyone else." Winter had a hint of anger due to his arrogance.

"Well, if you got to the school in the first place, you're supposed to be good enough," he argued.

"Getting to the school is one thing, but surviving is something else. If you think you're hot stuff, then prove yourself first. That will give you the right to speak about others." With Winter's stalwart decree, the conversation ended. "Now, it is time for the proving grounds. Everyone, into the elevator."

The students boarded the elevator and the platform rose. Eirwen was very much amused by the spectacle that was portrayed as well as the rich nature of Schnitzel. Her mind started to wander to slowly cutting him up, watching him scream and flail. As Eirwen involuntarily licking her lips at the thought brushing her tongue blood that remained from his bleeding corpse. Realizing her bloodlust was starting to show, she quietly laughed to herself to drown it out. Unfortunately, Ebon saw her, but she was the only one. Before they knew it, they reached the main deck of the ship. Some of the students were amazed by the technology in this bay. Leena and Ivory were apart of the same group. "Wow, Atlas is still modernizing! It has been ages since I was in Atlas so I didn't know they went this far." Leena was very fascinated by it all.

"I agree, I agree, so much cool stuff." While Leena and Ivory were having a moment, Ebon and Eirwen were alone.

"So the technology doesn't interest you," Eirwen asked.

"It is not that, it's just that I have stuff on my mind," Ebon answered.

Eirwen grabbed Ebon's hand, which surprised her, "Well, I'm here, so tell me."

Ebon quickly pulled her hand away and looked away. "Who are you?" Slightly shocked by her rejection and confused by the question, Eirwen tried answering the best she could.

"Well, I'm me."

" No, who _are_ you," Ebon snapped, looking Eirwen dead in the eye. She realized that Ebon was talking about the elevator. _No, No, No… She isn't talking about that._

"Um, I don't know what you mean," responded Eirwen, her voice growing timid.

"Why were licking your lips and smiling? That smile was not even a normal one. It was filled with sinister intentions." Ebon started losing her stoic persona because of the enigma in front of her. This girl, who seemed to have the experience of a war-toiled soldier, was acting extremely innocent. That event alone was enough to fully question the trust between them. Before Eirwen can answer, there was a beep of a speaker calling for all students to meet at the drop bay. "We'll finish this later. All I want is to finish this test and move on. Just tell us the plan and we will do it." She walked towards the bay, leaving in a wrecked state of emotions. Her mask was just cracked by one of her teammate that was supposed to trust her. Now that was broken. She couldn't fix this anymore. Eirwen was slowly losing her sanity to her lust when she remembered the thing that Vivien gave her. She rushed through her pockets for her bottle. When Eirwen found it, she dumped a couple in her hand hastily and gulped it down. Eirwen started to regain control and straightened her clothes. She knows that she can fix this and she will. Eirwen strode towards the bay.

The drop pod bay was packed full of students, not really designed for it anyway. Winter was standing on top of a utility box that was lying around. "Now the loaders here will help you into your pods and secure your weapons. They will give you a quick tutorial on what to do when your pod lands and then lock your pod for launch. Some last words for advice. If you are motion sick, suck it up. If you are too scared, why are you even here? If you want to kill something, make it the Grimm. Am I clear?" A "Yes, ma'am," was echoed around the room and the student began to board. When Eiwen was about to board, Winter passed by her. "Good hunting, White," she whispered. As she got seated, she sent a call to the rest of her teammates and explained the plan.

Once everyone was ready, Winter gave the signal to drop and one by one they began to fall. Some were calm, some weren't, some were excited, some were just scared out of their minds, but one thing was certain to Eirwen. This would be the best fall of her life.

* * *

A/N:

Well, things are getting spicy.

Next chapter is fun.

New characters (Hint, Hint)

See you at the next.


	13. Chapter 13: Falling Towards the Sky

Chapter 13

Falling Towards the Sky

* * *

Winter clicked the top floor button on the elevator, slid her keycard on the reader, and clicked the close door button. Today was very exhausting for her, mainly for talking and yelling at the kids coming to Atlas. She found most of the kids half decent but that Schnitzel kid was really ticking her off. It's like he didn't know what the real world was like. What it means to be strong in a world of strong foes. Well, the only ray of light in that group was White, better known as Eirwen Roanfaust. Her service record indicated that she graduated from the Specialist Training Academy at the age of 14 and joined at the age of 12. She finished the 4-year course in 2. That was one of the feats that Eirwen had accomplished. She had racked up several hundreds of solo takedowns and completed dozens of squad missions flawlessly within 3 years of service. However, there was one downside. She was a very closed off person. Only speaking when necessary, never made friends except for Winter, and very interesting takedown methods that could be called illegal. In a sense, it looked like that Eirwen admired her but in honesty, Winter admired her. Her combat prowess, her politeness, her work ethic, everything screamed perfect. Winter wished she could be that good, however, there was a certain unease that she felt around Eirwen. She couldn't put her finger on it but it was something. The doors opened before she could give further thought.

As she stepped into the command room overlooking the ice plain where the initiation is taking place, she spotted two people standing by the window. One was in a general uniform, so it was natural to assume that it was General Ironwood. The other was wearing a dress that was a dark blue that faded to light blue. She also had white hair that was kept in a large ponytail. "General Ironwood, I have returned from instructing the students and deployed them as you requested," Winter announced in the attention stance. Ironwood was the first to turn around to greet his aide.

"Good job, Winter. That's the reason I keep you by my side." Ironwood praised. The name "Winter" seemed to peak the interest of the other person to turn around also. Winter couldn't believe her eyes.

"Hello, my dear sister," Weiss greeted.

"Weiss, is that you?" Winter couldn't believe that her sister matured so much in the 7 years they haven't seen each other.

"Why yes, it is."

"You look...good"

"Well, these big dresses are not really my thing, but right for the occasion."

"Right, you were more of a 'combat skirt' person."

"I still am!"

"Haha, I remember these conversations we had when you were younger."

"Me too."

"So, right to the point. Why are you here?"

"Oh, just here to make a personal delivery and watch my little child."

"Child?" Winter thought she heard those words wrong. "Child! Since when did Weiss have a child. Was it with that Arc?"

Weiss pointed at the leaderboard for grading the students that are in the initiation. "See, Eirwen is at the top."

"Huh?!"

"Well, if you didn't know, 5 years ago we found Eirwen on our doorstep when she was twelve. The only thing that she was wearing was her dress, that was ripped up in places, and a winter coat that had White Fang markings. She was also bleeding in various places and had no shoes so her feet were covered in injuries. At the time, we didn't know that she was the daughter of Richter Roanfaust, that disgraced general that got caught up in a White Fang attack. What we did know is that Eirwen was hellbent on revenge and would do anything to get it. However, it took a lot of persuading, but we got her to find a path to attaining it, by going through the system."

Winter could finally get why Eirwen pushed the hardest to get done with the academy and move into field work, "So, that is her reason to join, but how did she get so good?"

"Well, she had a good teacher."

"Wait, don't tell me it was Captain Arc."

"It was."

"No wonder she was amazing. The first time I saw Arc's skills was when he first joined the guard and I had to judge his skills. His attacks were flawless and his Aura control was spot on. Even with a sword and shield, he can take down a squad of gunman easily. If Eirwen got taught by him, then that proves her skill. This initiation is like child's play to her."

"Well, that's the point," Ironwood cut in.

"Sir?" Winter inquired.

"You see, this initiation is the start of a new team led by Eirwen Roanfaust to join the ranks of the special forces."

"Who might that consist of, sir?"

"You'll find out in the end, Head Specialist Winter. Now, the teams have probably already hit the ground since the blizzard is setting in so, I want you to get the pods ready with the equipment."

"Will do, sir." Winter marched out of the room with her instructions in mind.

"Now, Weiss, I hope you do enjoy your stay, but if I may ask, what is in that black case you brought in?"

Weiss lifted the case onto the table behind them, "It's a secret."

"Well, everyone has their secrets." The conversation ended there with silence and the howling of a winter storm of new beginnings.

Location: Ice Plain in front of Atlas Academy

Weather: Heavy Ice Dust Blizzard

Time after drop: Immediately

The thrill and exhilaration of the drop were astounding. The last time Eirwen felt this was when she dropped from a drop ship straight into 4 squads of White Fang. She massacred them all, but same difference. She pressed the buttons the loaders explained and since this was new tech, Eirwen didn't know how to use it fully, but she'll learn. All she did was use her ice to stop her fall but that wasn't an option due to the setting she was in. The pod responded to the presses and blew the front hatch. The sudden burst of cold air pressed itself against Eirwen's skin, but she wasn't affected by the freezing temperatures because after all, she is made out of ice. She stepped out of the pod to the 40 mph winds with mixed ice shards. To a soldier, these would be extremely dangerous conditions, but to a Huntsman, keeping a small field up would stop the ice shards but will slowly drain Aura. The key to survival is Aura management, but to Eirwen, things were in the middle. Since her Aura was stuck in her body, she couldn't make a protective field so the ice shards will affect her. However, there was one technique that she had never used but knew how to do. Eirwen put her hand on the snow-covered ice and began to concentrate. Slowly, her skin started to form a layer of ice that was crystal white, making her nigh undetectable to anyone in the snow without a semblance for eyesight. It also doubled as a type of protection against the ice shards because of the angles that the layer made. She checked her scroll before she left the area for where her teammates drop positions. Ebon and Ivory dropped close together by some mountains that were 2 miles away from the forest and Leena were alone by the forest entrance. "Hmm, maybe I should head to Leena first. Yeah, that's a good idea! Let see if the sisters can work together again." Eirwen started to head towards Leena position and sent her instructions to her teammates.

* * *

Location: Mountains by the Ice Plain

Weather: Ice blizzard with 20 mph winds

Time after drop: 20 minutes

* * *

Ebon reloaded her next two shots in her Hiraeth Warden to prepare for the next swing of the Ursa in front of her. It was her luck to be immediately attacked after she dropped. "Damn that girl! She got my sister and I stuck in this mess. Well, it can not be helped. Her enemy is the White Fang so, I can get back at them. Her weird behavior has me concerned, but her reaction tells me I shouldn't jump to conclusions." The Ursa began its second charge as Ebon held her ground. It swiped with its left front paw. Ebon rapidly increased the weight of her weapon to dodge the blow and pulled the shotgun to the elbow joint of the same paw. She pulled the trigger and one 12 gauge fire dust shell and released pellets that impacted the joint. The pellets going straight through the joint and out the other end. The Ursa roared in pain as its limb fell on the ice ground. Given that the Ursa was stunned because of the sudden limb lost, Ebon rushed forward and fired the second shot in the chest cavity of the Ursa. It was caught completely by surprise by the pellets and that is what Ebon was looking for. She climbed the Ursa from its hind legs and jumped in the air. She then transformed her weapon into ax mode and released the gravity that she used to lighten the weapon. The weapon dropped straight down, right on top of Ursa's head. A clean slice was formed from Ursa's head to the cracked icy ground of the impact.

As the corpse began to fade, Ebon wiped the very little sweat from her forehead. "Now, where to go?" She observed the area around her and, not to her own surprise, she couldn't see anything. The blizzard was covering most of the area so visibility was non-existent, however, the wind was dying down so, her hearing would be better. Ebon decided to listen in to see where people are. Suddenly, her hearing was disrupted by a ring of a scroll notification. Annoyed, she took it out to see a message from Eirwen. "What could it be this time?" The message read, Your sister is nearby, find her and head to the forest. "My sister is nearby? Well, at least tell me where!" As soon as she thought that, Ebon heard explosions close by. "Ah, that is what you meant by 'close by'." Ebon jumped off the cliff and slid down to the base of the cliff. She quickly lightens herself just enough so she didn't float away and ran to the sounds.

The explosions were, by no mistake her sisters, as she observed her fight against two Ursai. From her position, she could barely see her sister's outline but the explosions and laughter were very much evident. Ebon always knew that her sister enjoyed fights. From middle school to combat school, she would make sure to fight everyone she could before she was told to stop. However, in combat school was when she was serious about getting stronger because of their mother's hospitalization. Ivory's efforts went all to naught because of the lie Ebon told her that their mother had passed away rather than telling her that she killed her. That led Ivory to the White Fang which led them all to here. Ebon was shaken out of deep thought at the sound of two Ursai falling to the ground. Ebon performed the same maneuver to when she was at the cliff edge continued to move towards. It was when she was about 2 meters away when Ivory suddenly turned around and pointed her weapon towards Ebon's forehead, her face filled with no hesitation to kill. "I-Ivory?" questioned Ebon. Once Ivory heard Ebon's voice, her face was instead filled with relief.

"E-Ebon?"

"Yes, it is me." Ivory reacted and immediately rushed to embrace Ebon. Ebon felt the radiating warm heat that came off of Ivory and took it all in. She had not felt this feeling in a long time. She was hugging her sister that she thought she lost to the darkness of this world in her arms. "I really missed you," Ebon responded to the hug.

"Me too," Ivory replied. They both slowly backed away from each other and silence followed the two after. Other than the wind, things were quiet.

Ivory was the first to break the silence. "Hey, Ebon?"

"Yes, Ivory?"

"So, what do we do now?"

"Oh, right. So, we do what Eirwen messaged us."

"Yeah, about that-," Ivory scratched her head.

"You broke your scroll, didn't you."

"Hey, it wasn't my fault!"

"Well, it is your fault for not taking care of yours."

"Ok, fine, just what did she tell you."

"She told me to find you and head to some coordinates."

"What are we waiting for then, let's go!" Ivory started sprinting in the wrong direction.

"That's the wrong way!" Ebon called after her but Ivory probably couldn't hear her. Normally, Ebon would be mad at her sister for taking off before she told her anything but she was fine with it just for today. She shook her head, reloaded her Hiraeth Warden, and ran right after.

* * *

Two hours later

Location: Near Forest entrance

Weather: Near freezing, low winds

* * *

Eirwen tediously made it to the forest entrance. The winds were kicking up in the plains so it was hard to walk all the way there. She checked her surroundings, seeing if anyone came through here, and as she thought, multiple teams came through the entrance. "Well, that is just amazing. I have to find one person in a crowd of many and I can't kill the people in my way. " She decided to stop thinking about how to find Leena and actually doing it. She walked into the forest for several minutes before coming across a high-pitched scream. Interested, Eirwen decided to check it out. On arrival, she deactivated her ice field and hid in the trees. She looks onwards towards a group of four gathered around a girl that looked to be very exhausted. "Is that all you got, freak?" one of the group members shouted. The girl weakly held herself up with just her weapon. The design was a broadsword using dust to power the blade and it has seemed that she ran out of ammo. The girl, herself, was that same fox faunus that was in the lobby. "Fuchs, was it? Why did she go to Atlas? She should have expected this from the people. Oh wait, she thought she was brave enough, that's why. What a fool." Eirwen could have taken action now like any righteous person but that wasn't her nature. So, sit and wait she did. "Man, you were a fun fight but to go down so easily isn't," one of the groupmates stated. "Now, why don't you join us? It's not like anyone else wants you. You're just a freaky little girl in a world much bigger than you. I'm sure we can get much use out of you than anyone else," The group member finished with a laugh. As he finished his words a sudden force tugged at the man's neck and dragged him into the abyss of the forest. "Elmar," one of them shouted but their voices never reached him for he was already out cold, "Scheiße, Schnitzel someone took down Elmar."

"Then, find them," Schnitzel ordered to the other two. "One down, three to go," Eirwen mused. As they spread into the forest, Eirwen took the time to observe their weapons. One was a slightly lean guy had a type of metallic bow and the other had a brawnier look had a two-handed ax that could turn into a different weapon but Eirwen couldn't tell. "Well, I guess I should make myself known." The two men were surprised by the figure appearing before them, dragging "Elmar" by the head. "So, you're the bastard who took out Elmar," one of the men barked.

"Wow, did I leave that much of an impression on you."

"You sure did."

Eirwen sighed, "Could I at least have your names?"

"Hmph, I guess. He's Michael and I'm Brandon."

"Good, now I will remember those names." Eirwen leaped forward. The two, half-expecting it, also jumped into action. Brandon fired some arrows in the girl's general direction but none of them connected. "How is this girl doing that ?" As he was caught up in his thoughts he forgot the distance between him and the girl. She was right in his face, grinning in anticipation but that faded away quickly because she noticed the ambushing ax wielder on her side. She dodged the berserker's blade with a backflip backward. The archer readied his bow once again but this time the arrows glowed yellow. "Hmm, I wonder what that is," Eirwen sarcastically thought. As the arrows released, Eirwen playfully dodged them as well as observe the arrows carefully. The projectiles impacted a tree then proceeded to detonate into a ball of electricity. The projectiles themselves felt special."Hmm...Interesting. Is he using his semblance to modify different types of arrows at will " Eirwen remarked. The next few attacks continued the same way, with her dodging the same arrows accompanied by the explosion of lightning. "Man, your attacks are so simple," Eirwen taunted.

"Oh, really? Try this!" The archer pulled out an arrow that had a drill-type tip. He loaded then let it fly towards Eirwen. "Come on, I can just dodge that why did he-," Eirwen remembered what that certain type of arrow was and shielded her face as the arrow came near. Within range, the arrow exploded into a bright flash, but Eirwen covered her face in time to not be blinded. As Eirwen recovered, she barely detected the volley of arrows that was directed at her. While dodging the seemingly undodgeable attack, a couple of arrows nicked at her sleeves and her skirt. "This man is no pushover, that is for a fact," Eirwen reflected. After regaining her footing, there was a lot of snow kicked up so she had lost sight of the two. "Oh, where could he be?" On cue, a figure emerged from the fog which looked to have some huge object in hand. As Eirwen readied herself, the figure disappeared. "Now, where did he go?" Eirwen's question was answered with a battle cry of a very angry man coming from the sky. Given the little time to react, she put up her hands to defend. The ax blade connected with her arm and a shockwave erupted between them, making a crater under Eirwen and rocked some of the trees around them.

Both instantly recognized the stalemate and pushed off of each other. "How can that girl block my ax attacks without a weapon," Michael conceived. As soon as he landed, Michael spent no time getting back into the offensive. He rushed forward, with ax ready towards the girl. The first swing was aimed at the abdomen of her body. She then ducked under the blade and kicked his blade up. The girl then pressed her attack. With a right hook, she punched square in his chest, knocking the air out of his lungs. She then jabbed a kick to his side, which was more powerful than he expected. The kick launched him back, but Micheal recovered by stabbing the ground with his ax to stabilize himself. "How does she do that?!" He was again baffled by the immense strength this short girl had. Judging by that, Michael concluded that it would take a lot longer to bring her down "I guess I have to use that ability." Given how long "that ability" takes to charge, he should make a tactical retreat.

"Well, he was persistent, I'll give him that." Eirwen was quite impressed by the level of skill these two possessed. They can at least backup anything they said or did. However, that didn't matter to her. They both couldn't breach her icy armor, so to her, they aren't that amazing. Since the ax guy left, Eirwen took the the time to do some stretching. She let down her armor and proceeded to do some light stretches. Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted the slight glint of metal of an ax. "Hmm, I wonder what they are planning." When she finished, she recast her armor and looked around for that glint. As she got closer, she saw that it wasn't an ax but a metal arrow. "Huh, I wonder what an arrow is doing here all by itself." She picked it up but realized too late that it was a flash arrow. The arrow triggered and blinded Eirwen. Michael, on cue, jumped on top of Brandon's bow that has converted to a shield. Brandon then poured his aura into his arms and boosted Michael up into the air. Michael, with his semblance of charging up aura, put it all into his ax. He then came down with everything he had to bear down on the blind girl. Eirwen, regaining her vision, heard the whistling of something above her. As Eirwen looked up, she was centimeters away from the ax blade. "Ah." There was a resounding cracking sound with a metal dinging that went throughout the forest. As the snow dust cleared, Michael was taken aback to what he saw. His ax blade was embedded into the girl's shoulder, which looked to be a deep gash, however, the strange part about that was the residue of ice shards around the wound. "What is—," the ice started to seal over the wound in a red crystal structure. "The hell is this, girl?" questioned Michael.

"Well, that is an interesting question." Michael jumped away from the girl and readied his weapon. The girl suddenly rose from the ground and was standing up like nothing ever happened.

" W-W-What are you?" Michael, for the first time of his life he trembled. This girl survived one of his strongest moves and she was smiling. Smiling with the grin of a devil.

"I'm just a perfectly ordinary girl", Eirwen replied, with the most false looking innocent face.

"Bullshit! That right there, is what monsters do!"

"My, my, why won't you believe me."

"Because you looked like you were enjoying yourself."

"But I am! The marvelous feeling of near death is thrilling!"

"So, you were toying with us!"

"Precisely. You were too weak for me," Eirwen started laughing maniacally. Michael couldn't believe that someone so evil can exist.

"Don't screw with me!" Michael let out a battle cry and rushed the girl with everything he had. "Too weak." As Eirwen prepared herself for the attack, a slight glint caught her attention which followed with a yellow arrow heading straight towards her. "Typical." Eirwen caught the arrow and stabbed it into the ax wielder. Given Eirwen's previous deduction of the archer's semblance, she judged that the color of the arrows meant what dust or element it is. Since yellow is most likely lightning, she took the gamble and hoped it worked and it did. The ax wielder was electrocuted and was made unconscious.

"Why?" That was the only thought that went through Brandon's head, beholding the power of the "person" they engaged someone who was leagues above their own and got annihilated because of that. It felt like God was punishing him for his sins. However, as he was wallowing in his defeat, a voice appeared beside him.

"Sucks doesn't it."

"Gah," Brandon yelped back in surprise.

"Ha, scared you," the girl teased.

"How did you-."

"Get over here?"

"Y-Yeah."

"Training."

"HUH." Brandon was bewildered that the person they attacked is talking to him like nothing happened. "Don't you want to take me down?"

She looked up at the treetops," Hmm… I mean you don't seem to hate faunus."

"Huh?"

"Like when I saw you in that group, you were not trying to hurt her but you weren't stopping them either."

"Well… I don't hate them, but..." He stopped himself. Brandon really didn't know if he hated them or not but his team was his only friends so anything they did, he did because he didn't what to be left out. "My team was my only friends and we've been together through middle school."

Eirwen decided to sit on a rock near them, "Well they aren't the best friends to have but you at least have friends." Brandon was generally surprised and not because of the display he saw.

"You didn't have friends?"

"Yeah, more or less. To answer that truly, I have to ask you a question?"

"Uh… Sure?"

"Did you ever feel like anything you do, doesn't matter in the end?"

Brandon was not expecting a dark question like that, "N-no."

"Well, my life was full of that. Mainly in school," The girl paused and looked towards the white sky, "I just wanted to be praised for my work for once but not one compliment. Not from teachers. Not from classmates. Not from my parents, well at least not from my father. My mother, on the other hand, was a very good parent."

Brandon noted that she said was, "Was?"

"She died when I was 7."

"Oh."

"With that in mind, making friends is… difficult but that has changed."

"That's good."

Eirwen, noting the end of that conversation, she got up from her rock and dusted off her clothes. "Now, I need to get going."

"Right, we have an initiation to complete."

"So, see you later?"

"Yeah." As the conversation ended, she immediately jumped into the trees, leaving Brandon and his friend to themselves. "I wonder what her semblance might be?" he mused as he tried to wake his friend up.

Eirwen really couldn't care less about those two or the entire team as long as they are useful. She stopped on a tree branch to check her position and lucky for her, she was near Leena. Adding to the luck, the Faunus sisters were together but still a bit away. However, she looked at her aura reserves and it was beginning to turn to yellow. "Wow, that ax guy did a number on me." Given the amount and what she knew of Schinzel, she couldn't fight him without taking damage or revealing her semblance. Eirwen gave it some thought then came up with an idea that formed a sadistic smile on her face. "Let's watch these two fight it out. Ooooh, I wish I had popcorn for this." Eirwen loved the idea of eating popcorn while two people fight to the death. "Well, can't miss the show!" Teeming with excitement, Eirwen put away her scroll and resume her heading towards her teammate duel for what lies ahead could prove interesting.


End file.
